LOST  WITH 

LIEUTENANT 

PIKE 

EDWIN-L-  SABIN 


„ 


University  of  California  •  Berkeley 


LOST  WITH 
LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

SECOND    IMPRESSION 


The  American  Trail  Blazers 

"THE  STORY  GRIPS  AND  THE  HISTORY  STICKS" 

These  books  present  in  the  form  of  vivid  and  fascinating 
fiction,  the  early  and  adventurous  phases  of  American 
history.  Each  volume  deals  with  the  life  and  adventures 
of  one  of  the  great  men  who  made  that  history,  or  with 
some  one  great  event  in  which,  perhaps,  several  heroic 
characters  were  involved.  The  stories,  though  based  upon 
accurate  historical  fact,  are  rich  in  color,  full  of  dramatic 
action,  and  appeal  to  the  imagination  of  the  red-blooded 
man  or  boy. 

Each  volume  illustrated  in  color  and  black  and  white 
I2mo.        Cloth. 

LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

GENERAL  CROOK  AND  THE  FIGHTING 
APACHES 

OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND 
CLARK 

WITH  CARSON  AND  FREMONT 
DANIEL  BOONE:    BACKWOODSMAN 

BUFFALO  BILL  AND  THE  OVERLAND 
TRAIL 

CAPTAIN  JOHN  SMITH 
DAVID  CROCKETT:    SCOUT 
ON  THE  PLAINS  WITH  CUSTER 
GOLD  SEEKERS  OF  '49 
WITH  SAM  HOUSTON  IN  TEXAS 


IT  S    THE    WRONG    PEAK,     MEN — YES,    THE    WRONG    PEAK 


LOST  WITH 
LIEUTENANT  PIKE 


BOW  FROM  THE  PAWNEE  VILLAGE  THE  BOY  NAMED  SCAR 
HEAD  MARCHED  WITH  THE  YOUNG  AMERICAN  CHIEF  CLEAR 
INTO  THE  SNOWY  MOUNTAINS;  HOW  IN  THE  DEAD  OF  WINTER 
THEY  SEARCHED  FOR  THE  LOST  RIVER  AND  THOUGHT  THAT 
THEY  HAD  FOUND  IT;  AND  HOW  THE  SPANISH  SOLDIERY 
CAME  UPON  THEM  AND  TOOK  THEM  DOWN  TO  SANTA  FE  OF 
NSW  MEXICO,  WHERE  ANOTHER  SURPRISE  AWAITED  THEM 


BY 

EDWIN  L.  Sf  BIN 

AUTHOR  OF  "  GENERAL  CROOK  AND  THE  FIGHTING  APACHES," 
"  OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK," 
"  BUFFALO  BILL  AND  THE  OVERLAND  TRAIL,"  ETC. 


WITH  ILLUSTRATIONS  BY 
CHARLES  H.  STEPHENS 

PORTRAIT  AND  A  MAP 


PHILADELPHIA  &  LONDON 

J.  B.  LIPPINCOTT  COMPANY 


COPTRIGHT,   1919,  BY  J.   B.   LIPPINCOTT  COMPANY 


PRINTED  BY  J.   B.  LIPPINCOTT  COMPANY 

AT  THE  WASHINGTON  SQUARE  PRESS 

PHILADELPHIA,  V.  S.  A. 


TO  THOSE 
COUNTLESS  OTHER  AMERICANS 

WHO  IN    IQI?   AND   I9l8   BRAVELY  FOLLOWED,  LIKE  YOUNG 
LIEUTENANT  PIKE,  THE  TRAIL  OF  HONOR,  FLAG  AND  DUTY 


M13691 


I.    Always  preserve  your  honor  free  from  blemish. 
II.    Be  ready  at  all  times  to  die  for  your  country. 

General  Pike's  rules  for  his  little  son, 


FOREWORD 

THIS  story  takes  the  adventure  trail  of  that  young 
soldier-explorer  Zebulon  Montgomery  Pike,  who 
was  lost  in  the  mountains  of  southern  Colorado  one 
hundred  years  ago.  Another  story  in  the  Trail 
Blazers  Series  has  told  of  Captains  Lewis  and  Clark, 
who  explored  the  northwestern  part  of  the  new 
Louisiana  Territory.  They,  also,  were  young. 
Captain  Lewis  had  just  turned  thirty.  But  Lieuten- 
ant and  Captain  Zebulon  Pike  was  younger  yet.  He 
was  only  twenty-seven  when,  while  Lewis  and  Clark 
were  still  out,  he  was  sent  to  lead  a  handful  of  men 
into  the  unknown  Southwest. 

The  vast  Province  of  Louisiana,  bought  by  the 
United  States  from  France  three  years  before,  for 
$15,000,000,  was  thought  by  the  United  States  to 
extend,  in  the  north,  from  the  Mississippi  River  to 
the  Rocky  Mountains;  in  the  south  it  tapered  off 
to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  at  New  Orleans. 

The  southwestern  boundary  was  uncertain.  The 
United  States  claimed  clear  to  the  lower  Rio  Grande 
River,  across  Texas;  Spain,  which  had  owned 
Louisiana  Territory  before  the  United  States  bought 
it  from  France,  claimed  north  even  to  the  Missouri 

7 


FOREWORD 

River.  Some  said  that  the  Arkansas  River  of  south- 
ern Colorado  should  be  the  boundary,  there;  some 
said  the  Red  River,  further  south — which  was  con- 
fused with  the  Canadian  River.  And  when  Lieuten- 
ant Pike  was  started  out,  the  United  States  soldiers 
and  the  Spanish  soldiers  of  Mexico  faced  each  other 
across  the  Sabine  River  of  the  western  border  of 
Louisiana  State. 

So  the  trail  of  young  Pike  and  his  handful  of 
men  pointed  into  a  debated  land.  If  the  Indians 
did  not  get  them,  the  Spanish  might.  He  had  been 
instructed  not  to  offend  the  Spanish,  and  to  keep 
away  from  their  settlements  of  New  Mexico;  but 
he  was  resolved  to  stand  his  ground  when  he  deemed 
that  he  was  in  the  right,  and  to  defend  the  Flag. 
The  Spanish  had  sent  six  hundred  soldiers,  with 
over  two  thousand  horses  and  mules,  to  look  for  him. 
He  would  certainly- have  fought  them  all,  with  his 
twenty  men,  had  they  tried  to  stop  him  anywhere 
outside  of  New  Mexico. 

No  braver  soldiers  ever  marched  than  Lieutenant 
Pike  and  his  little  platoon.  They  lost  their  way; 
they  struggled  with  cold  below  zero  and  snow  to 
their  waists,  in  the  bleak  high  mountains.  They  had 
left  home  with  only  summer  clothing;  they  were 
ragged  and  lean,  and  their  feet  froze  until  the  bones 
came  out.  They  went  days  at  a  time  without  food. 

8 


FOREWORD 

And  they  were  utterly  lost,  in  a  winter  country; 
alone,  one  thousand  miles  from  home. 

But  only  once  did  a  single  man  complain  aloud. 
Their  wonderful  leader  sternly  silenced  him,  by 
reminding  him  that  they  all  were  sharing  and 
suffering  alike. 

When  their  lieutenant  had  been  gone  from  them 
two  days,  seeking  meat  to  relieve  a  famine,  at  his 
return  he  writes  in  his  journal :  "  On  the  counte- 
nances of  the  men  was  not  a  frown,  nor  was  there 
a  desponding  eye;  all  seemed  happy  to  hail  their 
officer  and  companions ;  yet  not  a  mouthful  had  they 
eaten  for  four  days."  Indeed,  they  were  planning 
to  send  out  and  rescue  him. 

It  was  this  same  spirit  which  made  the  American 
soldiers  in  France  press  forward,  ever  forward,  and 
yield  not  an  inch  of  ground. 

Lieutenant  Pike  was  an  officer  to  love  as  well 
as  to  respect.  He  asked  no  favors ;  only  obedience, 
and  willingness  to  endure  what  he  had  to  endure. 
He  never  spared  himself.  While  others  might  stay 
in  camp,  he  it  was  that  went  out  into  the  cold  and 
snow,  hunting  for  meat.  He  made  it  plain  that  his 
honor,  his  country  and  his  duty  were  more  to  him 
than  his  life.  These  were  the  three  ideals  that  in- 
spired him  to  go  on  when  he  might  have  been  excused 

9 


FOREWORD 

for  camping  in  safety  and  giving  up  his  search  for 
the  Red  River. 

The  name  of  Pike  lives  in  history.  We  have  a 
famous  mountain  named  for  him,  and  we  know  that 
he  died — "  killed  in  action  " — as  a  brigadier-general, 
aged  thirty-four.  The  names  of  his  brave  men  have 
vanished.  What  became  of  John  Sparks,  Pat  Smith, 
Jacob  Carter,  and  the  rest,  we  do  not  know.  We 
do  not  know  that  the  Government  even  rescued  from 
the  Spaniards  those  whom  their  lieutenant  had  been 
obliged  to  leave.  We  do  not  know  that  any  of  them 
received  gifts  of  land  and  extra  pay,  such  as  the 
Lewis  and  Clark  men  received.  But  heroes  they 
were,  every  one,  who  did  not  fail  their  leader  nor 
their  flag. 

So  their  company  roll  is  printed  in  this  book, 
that  they  also  may  live  again. 

THE  AUTHOR 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  THE  COMING  OF  THE  SPANIARDS 19 

II.  THE  COMING  OF  THE  AMERICANS 36 

III.  THE  PAWNEES  ARE  OF  Two  MINDS 52 

IV.  ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  SPANIARDS 70 

V.  THE  CHASE  OF  THE  BIG  ELK 85 

VI.  LIEUTENANT  WILKINSON  SAYS  GOOD-BY 99 

VII.  "THE  MOUNTAINS!     THE  MOUNTAINS!" 112 

VIII.  BAD  HEARTS  IN  THE  WAY 127 

IX.  A  TRY  AT  THE  "  GRAND  PEAK  " 139 

X.  ONWARD  INTO  .WINTER 156 

XI.  SEEKING  THE  LOST  RIVER 167 

XII.  Is  IT  FOUND  AT  LAST  ?  176 

XIII.  MEAT  FOR  THE  CAMP 187 

XIV.  A  TRAIL  OF  SURPRISES 200 

XV.  NOT  YET  DEFEATED 225 

XVI.  BLOCKED  BY  THE  GREAT  WHITE  MOUNTAINS  ....  237 

XVII.  THE  FORT  IN  THE  WILDERNESS 250 

XVIII.  VISITORS  FROM  THE  SOUTH 261 

XIX.  IN  THE  HANDS  OF  THE  SPANIARDS 275 

XX.  STUB  REACHES  END  o'  TRAIL 289 

XXI.  GOOD-BY  TO  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 306 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

".It's  the  Wrong    Peak,  Men  —  Yes,  the  Wrong  Peak" 

Frontispiece 

Lieutenant  Zebulon  Montgomery  Pike 15 

"  I  Bring  You  the  American  Flag  " 55 

Whang!  It  Buried  Itself  Almost  Out  of  Sight  Behind  the 

Elk  Chief's  Ribs 97 

But  Stub  Never  Felt  the  Final  Crash 203 

"In  My  Proper  Character,  Sir:  An  Officer  of  the  United 
States  Army  " 298 

MAP 
The  Trail  of  Lieutenant  Pike 19 


LIEUTENANT  ZEBULON    MONTGOMERY   PIKE 

From  the  First  Edition  of  His  "Expeditions" 
Philadelphia,    1810 


BRIGADIER-GENERAL 
ZEBULON  MONTGOMERY  PIKE 

A  noble  young  American  soldier  and  explorer, 
whose  guiding  purpose  was :    Honor,  Country,  Duty. 

Born  January  5,  1779,  at  Lamberton,  near  Trenton,  New 
Jersey. 

His  father  was  Captain  Zebulon  Pike,  of  the  Fourth  Conti- 
nental Dragoons,  in  the  War  of  the  Revolution;  later  major  in 
the  Third  and  the  First  Regiments  of  Infantry,  U.  S.  A.,  and 
brevet  lieutenant-colonel. 

The  boy  Zebulon  was  brought  up  as  a  soldier. 

At  fifteen  he  was  a  cadet  in  his  father's  infantry  regiment 
of  the  United  States  Third  Sub-Legion. 

At  twenty,  or  in  March,  1799,  he  was  commissioned  second 
lieutenant  in  the  Second  Regiment  of  Infantry,  U.  S.  A. 

Commissioned  first  lieutenant,  November,  the  same  year. 

Transferred  to  the  First  Infantry,  of  which  his  father  was 
major,  in  April,  1802.  In  this  regiment  Meri wether  Lewis,  of 
the  famous  Lewis  and  Clark  expedition  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Columbia  River,  was  then  a  captain. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-six,  while  Captains  Lewis  and  Clark 
are  exploring  through  the  far  northwest  of  the  new  Louisiana 
Territory  purchase,  he  receives  orders,  July  30,  1805,  from 
General  James  Wilkinson,  Chief  of  the  Army,  to  ascend  the 
Mississippi  River  from  St.  Louis  to  its  source.  He  is  to  report 
upon  the  country,  the  Indians  and  the  fur  trade  of  this,  the 
eastern  border  of  Upper  Louisiana. 

Starts  from  St.  Louis,  August  9,  1805,  with  twenty  enlisted 
men  of  the  regular  army,  in  a  keel-boat  seventy  feet  long, 
provisioned  for  four  months.  Sufferi  many  hardships  by 

15 


ZEBULON  MONTGOMERY  PIKE 

storni,  cold  and /hunger,  but  returns  successful  on  the  last  day 
of  April,  1806,  after  an  absence  of  almost  nine  months. 

Ifc  less  than  two  months,  or  on  June  24,  1806,  he  is  directed 
to  ascend  the  Missouri  and  Osage  Rivers,  and  restore  forty- 
six  Osage  Indians,  rescued  by  the  Government  from  the  Pota- 
watomi  Indians,  to  their  people  of  the  Osage  towns  in  western 
Missouri.  He  is  to  make  peace,  by  order  of  their  American 
father,  between  the  Osage  and  the  Kansas  nations.  He  is  then 
to  continue  to  the  Pawnees  of  present  northern  Kansas,  and  ask 
them  to  help  him  on  to  make  peace  with  the  Comanches  in  the 
southwest  on  the  borders  of  New  Mexico.  While  with  the  Co- 
manches he  is  to  explore  the  head-waters  of  the  Arkansas  and 
Red  (Canadian)  Rivers,  but  he  must  avoid  trespassing  upon 
the  Spanish  territory  of  New  Mexico.  Spanish  territory  is 
supposed  to  extend  south  from  the  Red  River,  although  the 
Spanish  claim  that  it  extends  much  farther  north,  even  through 
Kansas. 

Again  he  leaves  his  family,  and  embarks,  July  15,  1806,  with 
First  Lieutenant  James  B.  Wilkinson,  First  Infantry,  the  son 
of  General  Wilkinson ;  Civilian  Surgeon  John  H.  Robinson,  an 
interpreter,  and  eighteen  enlisted  men,  in  two  boats.  The  ma- 
jority of  the  enlisted  men  had  been  with  him  up  the  Mississippi. 

He  visits  the  Osages,  who  welcome  the  return  of  their  rela- 
tives, and  agree  to  peace  with  the  Kansas.  The  Pawnees  try 
to  stop  him,  by  order  of  the  Spanish,  but  he  defies  them.  He 
fails  to  find  the  Comanches.  His  march  by  horse  and  foot 
takes  him  along  the  Arkansas  River  clear  to  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, where  he  sights  the  great  Pike's  Peak  (later  named  for 
him)  of  Colorado,  and  attempts  to  climb  it.  Searching  for 
the  head  of  the  Red  River,  that  he  may  follow  down  to  the 
military  posts  of  the  United  States  frontier,  he  loses  his  way 
completely.  In  the  bitter  cold  and  deep  snows  of  a  terrible 
winter  he  crosses  the  front  range  of  the  Rockies,  and  builds  a 
stockade  upon  a  stream  of  the  Upper  Rio  Grande  River  in  the 
lower  end  of  the  San  Luis  Valley,  southern  Colorado. 

Here  in  mid-winter  Spanish  soldiers  from  Santa  Fe  come 
upon  him  and  inform  him  that  he  is  in  Spanish  territory.  They 

16 


ZEBULON  MONTGOMERY  PIKE 

take  him  down  to  Santa  Fe,  the  capital  of  the  Province  of  New 
Mexico.  He  is  sent  on  down  to  the  military  headquarters  at 
Chihuahua,  Mexico.  From  there  he  is  sent  to  the  United 
States,  and  arrives  at  the  American  post  of  Natchitoches, 
western  Louisiana,  on  July  I,  1807,  after  travels  of  a  year. 

As  the  first  Government  explorer  through  far  southwestern 
Louisiana  Territory  he  brings  back  much  valuable  informa- 
tion upon  the  country  and  Indians,  and  upon  the  people,  mili- 
tary forces  and  customs  of  Mexico.  Captains  Lewis  and  Dark 
have  brought  back  also  their  information  upon  the  far  North- 
west. 

Meanwhile,  as  a  reward  for  his  services,  he  had  been  pro- 
moted to  captain,  August  12,  1806. 

Commissioned  major,  in  the  Sixth  U.  S.  Infantry,  May,  1808. 

Commissioned  lieutenant-colonel,  Fourth  U.  S.  Infantry, 
December,  1809. 

Commissioned  colonel,  Fifteenth  U.  S.  Infantry,  July,  1812. 

Appointed  brigadier-general,  adjutant-general  and  inspector- 
general,  U.  S.  A.,  March,  1813. 

Killed  in  action,  April  27,  1813,  while  commanding  the  as- 
sault by  the  American  troops  upon  York,  at  Toronto,  Canada. 
The  retreating  British  garrison  blew  up  a  powder  magazine, 
and  a  fragment  of  rock  crushed  his  back.  He  died  wrapped  in 
the  Flag,  amidst  victory,  at  the  age  of  only  thirty-four. 

THE  PIKE  PARTIES 

UP  THE  MISSISSIPPI    (1805-1806) 

First  Lieutenant  Zebulon  M.  Pike,  Commanding 

Pierre  Rousseau,  Interpreter 

Sergeant  Henry  Kennerman  (reduced  to  the  ranks) 

~  .      (  Samuel  Bradley 

Corporals   jwilliam  E.  Me7ek 

Privates 

Jeremiah  Jackson  Theodore  Miller 

John  Boley  Alexander  Roy 

Thomas  Dougherty  Patrick  Smith 

Solomon  Huddleston  John  Brown 

17 


THE  PIKE  PARTIES 

Jacob  Carter  John  Sparks 

David  Whelply  Freegift  Stout 

William  Gordon  David  Owings 

John  Mountjoy  Peter  Branden 
Hugh  Menaugh 

INTO  THE  SOUTHWEST  (1806-1807) 

First  Lieutenant  (and  Captain)  Zebulon  M.  Pike,  Commanding 

First  Lieutenant  James  B.  Wilkinson  (descended  the  Arkansas 
River) 

Civilian  Volunteer,  Doctor  John  H.  Robinson  (went  through) 

Baroney  Vasquez,  Interpreter  (went  through) 

C  Joseph  Ballenger  (accompanied  Lieutenant  Wil- 

Sergeants  J  kinson) 

(  William  E.  Meek  (went  through) 

Corporal  Jeremiah  Jackson  (went  through) 

Private  John  Brown  (went  through) 

Private  Jacob  Carter  (went  through) 

Private  Thomas  Dougherty  (went  through) 

Private  William  Gordon  (went  through) 

Private  Theodore  Miller  (went  through) 

Private  Hugh  Menaugh  (went  through) 

Private  John  Mountjoy  (went  through) 

Private  Alexander  Roy  (went  through) 

Private  John  Sparks  (went  through) 

Private  Patrick  Smith  (went  through) 

Private  Freegift  Stout  (went  through) 

Private  John  Boley  (accompanied  Lieutenant  Wilkinson) 

Private  Samuel  Bradley  (accompanied  Lieutenant  Wilkinson) 

Private  Solomon  Huddleston   (accompanied  Lieutenant  Wil- 
kinson) 

Private  John  Wilson  (accompanied  Lieutenant  Wilkinson) 

Private  Henry  Kennerman  (deserted) 


LOST  WITH 
LIEUTENANT   PIKE 

i 

THE  COMING  OF  THE  SPANIARDS 

"  AI-EE  !  I  see  them !  "  panted  Iskatappe,  over  his 
shoulder,  and  pointing  to  the  west.  "  The  Spanish !  " 

"  It  may  be  running  buffalo,  or  a  big  wind,"  an- 
swered Skidi. 

"  Shall  we  halt  and  wait?  "  proposed  Letalesha. 

"  No.  It  is  they.  It  does  not  move  fast  enough 
for  buffalo  or  wind.  It  is  on  this  side  of  the  river. 
We  will  cross  the  river  and  hide  on  the  other  side. 
Then  we  will  be  safe,"  ordered  Iskatappe. 

Boy  Scar  Head,  at  the  rear,  peered  hard  and  he, 
too,  sighted  a  dust  cloud  far  westward,  tinging  the 
horizon  above  the  rolling,  sandy  landscape. 

This  was  the  Corn  month,  July,  1806.  The 
four  were  travelling  in  single  file  at  fast  dog-trot 
down  through  the  northern  end  of  Texas  where  the 
Canadian  River  crosses.  Iskatappe,  or  Rich  Man, 
led.  He  was  second  chief  of  the  nation.  Skidi,  or 
Wolf,  came  next.  He  was  a  warrior.  Letalesha,  or 

19 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

Old  Knife,  trotted  third.  He  was  a  sub-chief.  And 
at  the  rear  there  trotted  Scar  Head,  who  was  not  yet 
even  a  warrior,  because  he  was  just  a  boy;  but 
some  day  he  should  be  a  warrior,  and  a  chief,  if  he 
proved  brave  and  smart. 

They  were  odd-looking  Indians,  clad  in  only 
moccasins  and  buffalo-robes.  The  three  men  had 
their  heads  closely  shaven  except  for  a  short  pompa- 
dour ridge  like  a  rooster  comb,  ending  in  the  scalp- 
lock.  With  a  paste  of  buffalo  tallow  and  red  clay 
this  scalp-lock  was  made  to  stand  up  stiff  and  curved 
forward  in  shape  of  a  horn.  By  that  sign,  and  by 
the  sign  of  their  travelling  afoot,  and  by  their  tall 
stature  and  high  cheek-bones,  friends  and  enemies 
would  have  known  them  at  once  as  Pawnees  from 
a  nation  of  fierce  fighters. 

However,  nobody  would  have  taken  Scar  Head 
for  a  Pawnee.  He  did  not  wear  the  horn — he  was 
not  yet  a  warrior.  He  wore  a  red  cloth  band  around 
his  head,  to  keep  his  long  brown  hair  out  of  his  eyes. 
He  was  short  and  stocky,  with  a  pug  nose  and  with 
freckles  showing  through  his  darkly  tanned  skin. 
No,  he  did  not  appear  to  be  a  Pawnee,  nor  an  Indian 
at  all. 

Still,  he  ranked  as  a  son  of  Charakterik,  head 
chief  of  the  Pawnee  Republic  nation.  Chief  Charak- 
terik had  sent  him  out  on  the  warrior  trail  to  get 

20 


THE  COMING  OF  THE  SPANIARDS 

experience.  He  was  called  Scar  Head  by  reason  of 
the  patch  of  white  hair  that  grew  over  a  queer,  hot 
spot  on  his  head.  He  felt  like  an  Indian  and  acted 
like  an  Indian ;  but  all  he  knew  was  that  he  had  been 
traded  by  the  mountain  Utahs  to  the  plains  Pawnees, 
several  years  ago,  and  that  Chief  Charakterik  had 
adopted  him. 

The  four  had  set  out  from  the  main  Pawnee 
Republic  village  of  round  mud  huts  on  the  Republican 
River  in  present  northern  Kansas  two  weeks  back. 
The  Pawnees  always  started  from  home  on  foot, 
except  when  hunting  game.  They  thought  that  they 
could  take  care  of  themselves  better  that  way.  A 
man  on  foot  could  hide  in  country  where  a  man  on 
horse  might  be  seen.  But  they  were  expected  to 
return  on  horseback,  with  other  horses  stolen  or  cap- 
tured, for  to  win  horses  was  the  test  of  a  Pawnee 
brave. 

Scar  Head  hoped  to  learn  a  great  deal  about 
horse-stealing,  although  this  was  not  really  a  horse- 
stealing  scout.  Nevertheless 

"If  we  are  not  given  horses  by  the  Spaniards, 
we  will  get  them  elsewhere,"  had  said  Rich  Man. 

"Yes;  we  will  get  them  from  the  Spaniards, 
anyway,"  had  replied  Skidi.  "  They  will  have  many 

horses,  easy  to  steal.    But  in  order  to  keep  friendly 

21 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

with  us,  they  will  surely  give  us  some,  when  they  see 
we  are  poor  and  afoot." 

The  dust  cloud  was  welcome.  It  was  time  that 
the  Spaniards  should  be  sighted — those  Spanish 
soldiers  who,  according  to  the  report  received  by 
Chief  Charakterik,  were  marching  from  New 
Mexico  into  the  Indian  country,  no  one  knew  why. 
To  find  out  was  the  business  of  the  Iskatappe  squad. 

The  dust  cloud  hung  in  the  air,  moving  slowly 
with  the  distant  breeze.  When  finally  the  four 
reached  the  bank  of  the  river,  the  cloud  was  much 
nearer. 

"  We  will  cross,  and  watch  them;  and  to-night 
we  will  go  into  their  camp,"  said  Iskatappe. 

So  they  swam  and  waded  the  shallow  river,  and 
crawled  out  into  a  clump  of  willows,  to  wait  until 
the  strangers  should  pass. 

Soon,  to  the  west  they  might  see  a  column  of 
mounted  figures  coming  on,  following  the  course  of 
the  river  but  staying  back  from  it  on  account  of  the 
deep  washes,  or  maybe  from  fear  that  their  thirsty 
horses  might  bolt  into  quicksands. 

"  They  are  many  times  ten,"  murmured  Skidi, 
counting  by  the  fingers  on  his  hands. 

"  It  is  only  an  advance  guard,"  Letalesha  said. 
"  A  bigger  dust  cloud  is  behind  them." 

And  that  was  so.    The  advance  guard  of  horse- 

22 


THE  COMING  OF  THE  SPANIARDS 

men  seemed  to  be  scouting  along  the  river,  as  if  seek- 
ing a  good  trail  to  water  for  the  others.  Boy  Scar 
Head  strained  his  eyes  to  see  as  much  as  the  warriors 
saw.  Over  the  yellow  desert  shimmering  with  the 
hot  air  the  riders  steadily  cantered,  under  several 
fluttering  pennons  borne  on  lances;  and  anybody 
might  tell  by  the  way  they  rode  that  they  were  war- 
riors themselves. 

They  were  going  to  strike  the  river  only  a  short 
distance  below.  Suddenly  Skidi  drew  quick  breath. 

"Apaches!    Look!    It  will  be  a  fight." 

"  Hi !  "  Iskatappe  uttered.  "  Let  nobody  move. 
We  are  safe  here,  if  we  don't  move." 

The  scene  had  changed  in  a  twinkling.  A  perfect 
swarm  of  Indians  had  burst  from  the  very  ground 
out  there,  and  with  shrill  yells  were  racing  to  hem 
the  Spanish  between  them  and  the  river.  How  they 
had  hidden  themselves  so  well  was  remarkable,  but 
it  was  an  Indian  trick  and  these  were  Apaches,  who 
knew  how  to  hide  in  the  sand  itself. 

They  outnumbered  the  Spanish  three  to  one. 
The  Spanish  leader  rapidly  formed  his  column — he 
rode  a  white  horse,  the  horses  of  his  men  were  dark. 
On  charged  the  Apaches,  whooping  and  brandishing 
their  bows  and  lances,  as  if  they  did, not  intend  to 
stop  until  they  had  ridden  right  over  the  enemy; 
when  on  a  sudden  the  guns  of  the  Spanish  puffed 

23 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

white  smoke.  Instantly  every  Apache 'fell  to  hang 
on  the  side  of  his  horse;  and  back  and  forth  they 
all  scurried,  shooting  .with  their  bows.  The  arrow 
stems  glinted  in  the  sun  like  streaks  of  hail. 

"  That  is  a  good  chief,"  Iskatappe  praised.  "  He 
knows  how  to  fight." 

For  the  Apache  chief  had  ordered  half  his  men 
to  dismount,  and  turn  their  horses  loose.  The  other 
half  stayed  in  the  saddle.  They  charged,  with  the 
footmen  running  behind;  the  Spanish  horsemen 
charged  to  meet  them;  then  the  Apache  horsemen 
separated  to  right  and  left  and  the  footmen  volleyed 
with  arrows. 

This  made  the  Spanish  halt,  to  answer  with  guns. 
The  Apache  footmen  darted  back,  behind  their 
horsemen,  and  these  charged  again,  to  lure  the 
Spanish  on  into  bow-shot. 

Boy  Scar  Head  quivered  with  excitement.  It 
was  the  first  real  battle  that  he  remembered  to  have 
seen.  The  others  were  tense,  too,  and  staring 
eagerly. 

"  With  half  that  number  of  Pawnees  I  would  eat 
those  Spanish  up,"  Skidi  boasted.  "  We  all  would 
take  scalps  and  horses  and  be  rich." 

"Those  Spanish  have  guns  and  much  powder 

and  lead,"  replied  Old  Knife.     "  It  is  hard  to  fight 

24 


THE  COMING  OF  THE  SPANIARDS 

guns  with  bows.    But  one  big  charge,  and  all  would 
be  over." 

The  battle  slowly  traveled.  It  was  getting 
directly  opposite,  as  the  Apaches  gradually  gave 
ground  and  the  Spanish  took  ground.  Scarcely 
anybody  appeared  to  have  been  hurt  yet ;  there  were 
no  dead  on  the  sand  and  all  the  wounded  stayed 
in  their  saddles.  The  column  in  the  distance  was 
making  a  larger  dust,  as  if  hastening  to  the  rescue. 

The  Apaches  no  doubt  knew  this.  Now  on  a 
sudden  the  noise  quieted.  The  Apache  chief  had 
cantered  forward  from  among  his  men,  shaking  his 
lance.  He  was  a  very  heavy  man,  with  a  very  long 
lance;  upon  his  arm  was  a  red  shield.  He  rode  a 
fine  spotted  horse. 

"  The  chiefs  will  fight,  maybe,"  quoth  Letalesha. 
"  That  is  the  way  to  settle  it." 

The  Apache  chief  spoke  in  a  loud  voice,  holding 
his  lance  high;  but  the  Spanish  chief  on  the  white 
horse  waved  him  back  and  evidently  said  no. 

;<  The  Spanish  chief  is  a  coward,"  Skidi  asserted. 
"  He  has  a  small  heart." 

"  Why  should  he  risk  losing  his  scalp,  when  he 
is  winning  and  he  has  enough  men  coming  to  burn 
the  Apaches  like  dry  grass?"  argued  the  wise  Old 
Knife. 

The  Apache  chief  sat  a  moment,  waiting;  then 
25 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

he  turned  back  for  his  own  party.  From  the  Spanish 
a  great  shout  arose,  that  made  him  again  turn, 
quickly. 

"  Ai-ee !  It  will  be  a  fight,  man  to  man,  after 
all !  "  Iskatappe  exclaimed. 

A  Spanish  soldier  had  dashed  past  his  chief, 
and  was  galloping  into  the  clear,  flourishing  his 
sword.  It  was  a  challenge.  The  chief  sped  to  meet 
him.  They  both  crouched  behind  their  round  shields. 
A  moment — and  they  came  together.  The  Spanish 
horseman  thrust  his  shield  forward,  to  throw  aside 
the  chief's  lance  point.  But  he  did  not  catch  it  full. 
He  only  threw  it  higher,  so  that  it  glanced  on  and 
struck  him  in  the  throat — went  straight  through. 
He  fell  off,  backward.  Jerking  the  lance  out,  the 
Apache  chief  scoured  by,  in  a  half  circle,  with  a 
whoop  of  victory. 

"  Hi,  yi !  "  Old  Knife  grunted.  "  There  is  blood 
and  a  scalp." 

What  a  yell  broke  from  the  Apaches  and  the 
Spaniards  both — a  yell  of  triumph  from  the  one,  a 
yell  of  vengeance  from  the  others!  The  Spanish 
charged,  firing  their  guns,  to  save  the  scalp,  and  to 
kill.  The  Apaches  scattered;  their  chief  galloped 
hither-thither,  urging  them  to  stand,  but  they  had 
no  stomachs  for  more  fighting  at  close  quarters  and 
the  rest  of  the  Spanish  were  spurring  in, 

26 


THE  COMING  OF  THE  SPANIARDS 

Presently  all  the  Apaches,  the  footmen  on  horse 
again,  tore  away,  making  down  the  river.  Without 
trying  to  pursue  them  the  whole  Spanish  army  gath- 
ered on  the  battlefield.  They  were  too  heavily 
clothed  to  overtake  Indians. 

"  They  are  as  many  as  a  herd  of  buffalo,"  said 
Letalesha.  "  They  are  a  large  war  party.  Where 
are  they  going  and  what  do  they  want?  " 

"  We  shall  find  out  from  them  at  sundown," 
Rich  Man  answered.  "  We  will  let  them  camp, 
first.  They  are  blood  hungry  now,  and  very  mad." 

"  It  will  be  no  trouble  for  us  to  get  horses," 
laughed  Wolf.  "  Even  a  boy  like  Scar  Head  could 
steal  some." 

"  Will  you  let  me  try?  "  Scar  Head  asked,  hope- 
fully. 

"  You  shall  be  a  warrior  and  get  horses,"  Iska- 
tappe  promised,  "  unless  they  make  us  presents  of 
them." 

"The  Apache  chief  was  Big  Thunder,"  Old 
Knife  declared.  "  I  know  him.  Red  is  his  medi- 
cine, and  as  long  as  he  carries  that  red  shield  noth- 
ing can  kill  him." 

"  Perhaps  the  Spanish  chief  knew,  too,"  Wolf 
proposed.  "Of  course,  nobody  wishes  to  fight 

against  medicine." 

27 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

"  The  Spanish  soldier's  medicine  was  very  weak/' 
remarked  Iskatappe. 

Thus  they  chatted,  waiting  and  watching.  Pretty 
soon  the  Spanish,  also,,  moved  on,  down  river. 
There  were  at  least  six  hundred  of  them,  all  mounted, 
and  twice  that  number  of  unsaddled  horses  and 
mules,  some  packed  with  supplies.  To  jingle  of 
trappings  and  murmur  of  voices  they  proceeded,  in 
a  long  column.  Rich  Man,  Old  Knife,  Wolf  and 
Boy  Scar  Head  followed,  by  the  other  river  bank, 
keeping  out  of  sight  in  the  brush  and  hollows. 

At  sunset  the  Spanish  halted  to  form  camp, 
beside  the  river. 

"  We  had  better  go  in  before  dark,"  Rich  Man 
directed.  "  Or  they  might  shoot  at  us.  We  had 
better  go  in  while  their  pots  are  full,  for  my  belly 
is  empty." 

So  they  rose  boldly  from  their  covert  under  the 
bank  of  the  river,  and  crossed  for  the  Spanish  camp, 
their  buffalo-robes  tightly  about  them. 

The  camp  was  spread  out  in  a  circle  over  a  wide 
area.  Several  chiefs'  lodges  had  been  set  up,  count- 
less fires  were  smoking,  horses  whinnied,  mules 
brayed,  medicine  pipes  (horns)  tooted,  and  a  myriad 
of  figures  moved  busily,  getting  water,  going  on 
herd,  arranging  the  packs,  marching  to  and  fro  as 
if  in  a  dance,  or  clustering  around  the  fires. 

aft 


THE  COMING  OF  THE  SPANIARDS 

These  were  the  Spanish,  were  they,  from  the 
south?  Scar  Head  had  not  supposed  that  so  many 
could  come  so  far,  all  together.  The  nation  of  the 
Spanish  must  be  a  great  and  powerful  nation. 

A  guard  saw  the  Iskatappe  file  approaching.  He 
shouted  warning  of  them,  and  leveled  his  gun. 

Iskatappe  lifted  his  hand  in  the  peace  sign. 

"  Amigos — friends,"  he  called.  He  knew  a  little 
Spanish.  So  did  most  of  the  Pawnees — a  little 
Spanish  picked  up  from  the  Comanches  and  southern 
Utahs,  and  a  little  French  picked  up  from  the  St. 
Louis  traders  who  visited  the  Pawnee  country. 

"  Que  tiene — what  do  you  want?"  the  guard 
demanded,  stopping  them  with  his  gun.  He  was 
dressed  in  a  blue  cloth  hunting-shirt  with  red  trim- 
mings, and  leather  wrappings  upon  his  legs,  and  huge 
loose-topped  leather  moccasins  reaching  to  his  knees, 
and  a  broad-brimmed  high-crowned  hat  with  rib- 
bons on  it;  and  all  his  face  was  covered  with  bushy 
black  hair.  He  was  armed  with  a  short-barreled  gun, 
and  a  long  knife  in  a  scabbard.  He  certainly  looked 
like  a  stout  warrior. 

"  El  capitan,"  Iskatappe  replied,  meaning  that 
he  wished  to  see  the  chief. 

Other  Spanish  soldiers  came  running.  Their 
head  warrior  said :  "  Come,"  and  with  the  Iskatappe 

29 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

file  stalking  proudly  after  he  led  the  way  through  the 
staring  camp  to  the  lodge  of  the  chief. 

He  was  a  black-eyed,  dark-skinned,  slim  young 
war  chief,  splendidly  clad  in  those  same  high,  loose- 
topped  shiny  leather  moccasins,  and  a  bright  red 
cloak  flowing  to  his  knees,  and  a  hat  turned  up  at 
one  side  and  sparkling  with  gilt. 

Of  course  the  first  thing  to  do  was  to  eat  There- 
fore, after  shaking  hands  with  the  Spanish  war 
chief,  Rich  Man,  Old  Knife  and  Wolf  sat  down; 
boy  Scar  Head  sat  down  likewise.  They  were  served 
with  plenty  of  meat,  from  a  pot. 

Gazing  curiously  about,  Scar  Head  might  see 
indeed  that  these  Spanish  were  rich  and  powerful. 
Such  quantities  of  horses  and  mules,  of  saddles, 
arms,  supplies,  and  soldiers  warmly  dressed,  and 
fiercely  whiskered  not  only  with  hair  on  cheeks  and 
chin,  but  sticking  out  like  horns  on  either  side  of  the 
nose!  What  did  the  Spanish  wish? 

Having  eaten,  Iskatappe  began  to  find  out.  The 
Spanish  chief  filled  a  pipe  and  passed  it  out;  Rich 
Man,  Old  Knife  and  Wolf  smoked  each  a  few  puffs, 
the  Spanish  chief  smoked  a  few  puffs,  and  Iskatappe 
spoke. 

"  The  Pawnee  wish  to  know  why  their  Spanish 
father  is  sending  so  many  of  his  soldiers  into  the 
buffalo  country." 

30 


THE  COMING  OF  THE  SPANIARDS 

"  The  great  king  who  owns  all  this  country  is 
anxious  to  be  friendly  with  his  children,"  responded 
the  young  war  chief.  "  So  he  has  sent  me,  his  lieu- 
tenant, Don  Facundo  Melgares,  with  a  guard,  to 
march  through,  take  his  red  children  by  the  hand, 
give  them  presents,  and  make  the  chain  of  friendship 
stronger." 

"  That  is  good,"  said  Iskatappe.  "  The  Pawnee 
Republic  is  very  poor.  But  if  my  father  is  sending 
presents  to  the  Pawnee,  why  are  his  men  marching 
east  instead  of  north?  And  why  does  he  send  so 
many  soldiers  with  guns?  " 

"  We  follow  a  long  trail,"  explained  the  war 
chief.  "  There  are  Indians  of  bad  hearts  toward 
everybody,  like  the  Apaches;  and  the  Apaches  we 
will  punish.  The  great  king  knows  how  to  punish 
his  enemies,  as  well  as  how  to  reward  his  friends. 
We  are  marching  east  because  we  go  first  to  visit  the 
Comanches.  We  bear  gifts  and  friendship  to  the 
Comanches,  to  the  Pawnees,  and  to  the  Kansas. 
And  we  march  east  to  clean  the  country  from  the 
Americans  who  are  stealing  in.  The  great  king 
will  look  after  his  own  children.  He  wishes  no  for- 
eigners to  view  the  land.  He  will  not  permit  the 
American  traders  to  cheat  the  Indians.  The  Ameri- 
can king  pretends  to  have  bought  part  of  the  coun- 

31 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

try,  but  he  has  no  rights  here  in  the  south,  and  the 
great  king  of  Spain  still  owns  all  the  lands  beyond 
the  Pawnees  and  the  Kansas.  Now  word  has  come 
to  the  Spanish  governor  that  the  Americans  are 
sending  soldiers  westward  through  Spanish  country, 
to  spy  out  the  land.  They  are  led  by  a  chief  named 
Pike.  So  we  march  ready  for  battle,  to  meet  these 
Americans  and  either  turn  them  back  or  take  them 
prisoner." 

"The  Americans  of  Chief  Pike  will  fight?" 
asked  Iskatappe. 

The  young  war  chief  laughed,  showing  white 
teeth. 

"  They  cannot  fight  the  soldiers  of  the  great  king. 
We  are  many  and  brave;  the  Americans  are  small. 
We  can  punish  or  reward.  The  Americans  are  weak 
and  poor.  Should  there  be  war,  we  will  eat  them 
up.  If  they  do  not  keep  out  of  the  country,  there 
will  be  war.  We  shall  warn  them.  The  Indians 
would  do  very  foolishly  to  help  the  Americans  who 
have  nothing,  and  are  only  greedy,  seeking  to  steal 
the  Indians'  hunting  grounds.  First  a  few  will 
come,  as  spies;  then  more  will  come  by  the  same 
trail,  and  with  their  guns  kill  all  the  buffalo." 

"  We  know  little  about  the  Americans,  but  we 
see  that  the  Spanish  are  many  and  strong,"  Iska- 

3* 


THE  COMING  OF  THE  SPANIARDS 

tappe  replied.  "  I  will  take  word  back  to  the  Pawnee, 
about  this  Pike." 

"  Who  is  your  head  chief  ?  " 

"  He  is  Charakterik— White  Wolf." 

"Where  does  he  live?" 

"  In  his  town  of  the  Pawnee  nation  on  the  river 
of  the  Pawnee  Republic." 

"  Tell  him  that  after  we  have  marched  east  and 
talked  with  the  Comanches  and  cleaned  the  foreign 
traders  from  the  country,  we  will  march  north  and 
visit  him  at  his  town  on  the  River  Republican.  If 
the  American  chief  Mungo-Meri  Pike  comes  there, 
the  Pawnees  must  stop  him ;  for  the  great  king  will 
be  angry  if  the  Americans  are  allowed  to  pass 
through." 

"  I  will  tell  him,"  Iskatappe  promised.  "  It  is 
best  that  we  travel  fast.  We  came  down  on  foot, 
for  we  are  very  poor.  If  we  have  horses  to  ride 
back  on,  we  shall  travel  faster." 

"  Bueno — good,"  answered  the  Spanish  chief. 
"  Your  father  the  great  king  of  us  all  is  generous 
to  his  children.  You  shall  have  horses,  so  that 
you  may  carry  the  news  quickly." 

This  night  the  Iskatappe  squad  slept  in  the  Span- 
ish camp,  and  ate  frequently.  Rich  Man  explained 
to  Old  Knife  and  Wolf  what  had  been  said  to  him 
3  33 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

and  not  understood  by  them.  Boy  Scar  Head  lis- 
tened. In  the  morning  they  were  treated  to  a  march- 
ing dance,  in  which  the  Spanish  soldiers  moved  to 
the  beat  of  drums.  They  were  presented  with  a 
horse  apiece;  and  after  having  shaken  hands  again 
they  left,  well  satisfied. 

Once  away  from  the  river  they  rode  fast;  for 
Skidi  had  stolen  three  mules  during  the  night  while 
the  guard  was  sleepy  instead  of  watchful,  and  hidden 
the  animals  in  a  convenient  place.  But  the  Spanish 
did  not  pursue. 

"  We  will  tell  Charakterik  that  the  Spanish  are 
strong,"  said  Iskatappe.  "  They  fought  the  Apaches  ; 
they  have  plenty  of  guns  and  horses.  They  will  eat 
the  Americans  of  that  Pike." 

"  I  think,  myself,  that  the  Pawnee  will  grow 
fatter  by  helping  the  Spanish  father  than  by  helping 
the  strange  American  father,"  declared  Old  Knife. 

"  We  have  gained  four  horses  and  three  mules," 
Skidi  chuckled.  "  All  the  whites  are  stupid.  If  the 
Americans  come  they  will  go  back  afoot;  hey? 

"  What  kind  of  men  are  the  Americans?  "  Boy 
Scar  Head  ventured  to  ask,  from  the  rear. 

"  We  are  talking,"  Letalesha  rebuked.  "  When 
chiefs  and  warriors  talk,  boys  keep  silent." 

So  Scar  Head  got  no  information,     AH  he 

34 


THE  COMING  OF  THE  SPANIARDS 

knew  was,  that  the  Americans  were  a  white  nation 
living  in  the  far  east,  beyond  St.  Louis  where  the 
French  traders  lived.  But  three  Pawnees  had  been 
taken  by  the  great  trader  Pierre  Chouteau,  to  visit 
the  American  father  in  Wash'ton.  When  they  re- 
turned, the  Pawnees  would  know  more  about  the 
Americans.  And  of  course  that  Chief  Pike  was 
likely  to  appear  if  the  Spanish  did  not  stop  him. 


II 

THE  COMING  OF  THE  AMERICANS 

THE  Spanish  came  in  about  three  weeks — three 
hundred  of  them,  led  by  their  young  war  chief  whose 
name  was  Melgares.  A  brave  sight  they  made  as 
they  rode  with  flags  and  drums  and  jingle  of  bridles 
and  formed  camp  outside  the  Chief  Charakterik 
town. 

Lieutenant  Melgares  held  a  council  with  the 
Republican  Pawnees  and  the  Grand  Pawnees  from 
the  north.  The  Pawnee  Loups,  or  Wolf  Pawnees, 
did  not  send  any  chiefs,  because  they  were  at  war 
with  the  other  Pawnees. 

The  Spanish  chief  said  that  he  had  met  the 
letans  or  Comanches  in  the  south  and  signed  a  treaty 
of  peace  with  them.  They  had  promised  to  help 
their  Spanish  father.  But  on  the  way  north  the 
Omahas  had  stolen  many  of  his  horses  and  mules, 
after  another  council;  and  by  reason  of  these  bad 
hearts  he  had  come  on  with  only  a  few  of  his  men, 
in  order  to  smooth  the  road  between  the  great  king 
and  the  great  king's  children. 

He  was  too  young  to  sit  in  grand  council  with 

36 


THE  COMING  OF  THE  AMERICANS 

the  head  chiefs  of  the  Pawnees.  In  the  spring  a 
higher  chief  than  he  would  come,  to  build  a  town 
near  the  Pawnee  town,  and  live  with  the  red  people 
and  teach  them  how  to  get  rich,  if  they  were  good. 
Meanwhile  they  must  watch  out  that  the  Americans 
(who  were  poor  but  greedy)  did  not  sneak  in,  and 
cheat  them  of  their  lands  and  drive  off  the  game. 
The  American  chief,  Mungo-Meri  Pike,  was  on  the 
way,  although  he  had  not  been  found.  If  he  arrived, 
he  must  be  turned  back.  These  were  the  orders  of 
the  king  of  the  Spanish  nation,  who  ruled  all  this 
country. 

Lieutenant  Melgares  gave  Chief  Charakterik  and 
the  head  chief  of  the  Grand  Pawnees  each  a  large, 
fine  medal  of  silver  to  wear;  and  a  paper  signed  by 
the  governor  of  New  Mexico,  which  made  them  head 
men  under  the  king;  and  a  Spanish  flag,  and  four 
mules.  He  laid  on  the  prairie  other  gifts,  of  crimson 
cloth  and  of  tobacco  and  smaller  medals;  and  again 
warning  them  that  the  great  king  would  be  very 
angry  if  the  crafty  Americans  were  permitted  to 
pass,  he  rode  away  south,  with  all  his  men. 

Chief  Charakterik  hung  the  gay  Spanish  flag  of 
red  and  yellow  in  front  of  the  council  lodge,  as  a  sign 
for  everybody  to  see.  It  was  plain  to  him  also  that 
the  Spanish  nation  was  a  powerful  nation,  to  send  so 
many  soldiers  so  far,  looking  for  the  Americans. 

37 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

The  Spanish  soldiers  had  not  been  gone  long 
when  from  the  Osage  towns  in  the  southeast  toward 
the  Missouri  River  there  ran  the  news  that  the 
Americans  of  Mungo-Meri  Pike  were  coming  indeed. 
They  were  bringing  to  the  Osages  almost  fifty  men 
and  women  whom  the  Potawotomis  had  captured 
last  year,  and  who  had  been  rescued  by  the  Ameri- 
can father.  Two  of  the  Pawnees  who  had  been  to 
Wash'ton  visiting  the  American  father  were  with 
them  on  the  way  home. 

11  We  will  let  them  come  this  far,  so  as  to  get 
our  brothers  back,"  said  Chief  Charakterik.  "  We 
will  talk  with  them  and  see  what  kind  of  men  they 
are,  but  they  shall  go  no  farther." 

He  sent  Pawnee  scouts  down  to  the  Osage  towns, 
to  watch  the  Americans. 

Now  August,  the  squash  month,  had  passed, 
and  September,  the  month  when  the  buffalo  fatten, 
had  opened.  The  Americans  were  reported  to  be 
at  the  Osage  villages,  where  a  welcome  had  greeted 
the  Osages  returned  from  the  Potawatomis,  and  a 
great  council  had  been  held  with  the  Pike  men. 

They  had  traveled  in  boats  up  the  Osage  River 
from  the  Missouri,  but  were  coming  on  across  coun- 
try to  the  Pawnees  by  horses. 

Only  one  American  appeared,  first,  riding  in 
with  a  Pawnee-who-had-been-to-Wash'ton  as  his 

38 


THE  COMING  OF  THE  AMERICANS 

guide.  This  Pawnee  young  man  had  gone  to  visit 
the  American  father  many  moons  ago,  and  here  he 
was  again,  safe  and  sound  and  wearing  good  clothes. 
That  spoke  well  for  the  Americans. 

He  said  that  the  other  Pawnee-who-had-been^to- 
Wash'ton  was  coming  with  the  rest  of  the  Ameri- 
cans. They  were  bringing  several  Osages  to  smoke 
with  the  Pawnees.  They  had  sent  word  for  the 
Kansas  to  meet  them  and  smoke  peace.  The  Ameri- 
cans were  a  pleasant  people;  they  numbered  thous- 
ands. This  American  with  him  was  a  medicine-man 
who  cured  diseases.  The  American  chief,  Pike,  had 
given  the  Osages  all  the  rescued  captives  and  had 
asked  nothing  except  peace  and  a  chance  to  buy 
horses;  he  had  presents  for  the  Pawnees,  too,  and 
was  going  to  the  Comanches.  His  men  were  few 
although  well  armed. 

The  next  day,  after  having"  talked  with  the 
American  medicine-man  in  the  lodge,  Chief  Charak- 
terik  took  sixty  warriors  and  rode  out  to  meet  Chief 
Mungo-Meri  Pike. 

Charakterik  was  gone  three  days,  and  came  in 
without  having  sighted  the  Americans.  But  a  Paw- 
nee hunter  reported  that  the  Americans  were  farther 
to  the  southward;  so  Chief  Charakterik  sent  out 
Frank  (which  was  the  American  name  of  the 

39 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

Pawnee-who-been-toWash'ton)    and    three    other 
warriors,  to  find  them. 

On  the  second  morning  two  of  the  scouts  gal- 
loped back  into  town. 

"  The  Pike  Americans  are  near  ing.  They  will 
be  here  before  noon." 

"  Tell  them  to  wait  until  I  shall  meet  them  and 
smoke  with  them,"  Chief  Charakterik  ordered. 

All  the  warriors  were  arrayed,  dressed  in  their 
best  robes  and  blankets,  and  painted  with  the  Pawnee 
colors  of  white,  yellow,  blue  and  black.  Chief 
Charakterik  wore  his  large  Spanish  medal  and  finest 
white  buffalo-robe.  Second  Chief  Iskatappe  wore 
a  red  coat  given  him  by  his  Spanish  father. 

Three  hundred  warriors  left  the  village,  with  the 
chiefs.  Riding  in  their  midst,  as  the  son  of  a  great 
chief  Scar  Head  felt  that  the  Pawnees  need  fear 
nobody. 

The  Americans  had  halted  about  three  miles  out, 
just  at  the  other  side  of  a  ridge.  The  Osages  were 
sitting  in  front  of  them.  Chief  Charakterik  shouted 
and  waved  his  hand — the  Pawnee  warriors  divided 
right  and  left  and  swooped  down  at  dead  run,  yelling 
and  firing  their  guns.  The  Americans  stood  firm, 
not  afraid,  as  if  they  knew  that  this  was  only  play. 
They  were  few,  as  said;  scarcely  more  than  the 
fingers  on  two  hands. 

40 


THE  COMING  OF  THE  AMERICANS 

After  the  warriors  had  charged  and  had  formed 
a  circle,  Chief  Charakterik  and  Second  Chief  Iska- 
tappe  advanced  on  foot  to  shake  hands  with  the 
American  chief.  This  Mungo-Meri  Pike  was  a 
young  man,  in  a  long  hunting-shirt  or  coat  of  blue 
with  brass  buttons  and  high  standing  collar  and 
lighter  blue  facings;  on  his  head  there  was  a  three- 
cornered  hat;  a  curved  sword  was  at  his  side  and 
leather  moccasins  reached  to  his  knees.  He  was 
redder  than  the  Spanish  chief  Melgares,  and  had 
no  hair  on  his  face. 

His  men  were  armed  with  guns  that  ended  in 
sharp-pointed  knives,  but  their  clothing  was  thin 
and  poor — nothing  like  the  rich  clothing  of  the 
Spanish  soldiers.  They  had  a  flag  of  red  and  white 
stripes  and  a  starry  blue  square  in  one  corner,  but 
they  were  small  in  number ;  and  all  in  all  they  did  not 
cut  much  of  a  figure  when  compared  with  the  Span- 
ish. Certainly  they  were  either  brave  or  foolish, 
thought  Boy  Scar  Head  as  he  roundly  stared,  to 
dare  the  Spanish  and  the  Indians  in  such  fashion. 

The  Osages  knew  how  to  act  when  in  Pawnee 
country.  Their  chief  stood  up  and  offered  Chief 
White  Wolf  a  pipe.  They  smoked,  as  sign  of  peace. 
Then  at  a  signal  by  White  Wolf,  he  and  Mungo- 
Meri  Pike  and  the  American  second  chief  (also  a 
young  man)  rode  on  for  the  village.  An  American 

41 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

head  warrior  on  a  white  horse  rode  just  behind, 
carrying  the  American  flag.  The  Osages  and  the 
other  Americans  followed,  while  the  Pawnee  war- 
riors raced  back  and  forth  alongside,  whooping  and 
showing  off.  It  was  great  fun. 

When  they  all  had  crossed  the  ridge  and  were 
near  the  town,  another  halt  was  ordered,  in  order  to 
smoke  horses  with  the  Osages.  The  four  Osages 
sat  down  together;  Chief  Charakterik  sat  down  in 
front  of  them,  and  lighted  his  pipe.  Any  Pawnee 
who  wished  to  give  horses  to  an  Osage  took  the 
pipe  and  passed  it  to  the  Osage.  Every  time  it  was 
passed  it  meant  a  horse,  until  eight  horses  had  been 
given.  This  was  the  Horse  Smoke. 

The  American  second  chief  marched  the  soldiers 
on,  to  make  camp  up-river  from  the  town.  Chief 
Mungo-Meri  Pike  and  his  medicine-man  stayed  for 
a  talk  with  White  Wolf  in  his  .lodge.  They  were 
feasted  to  stewed  corn  and  squash. 

The  Osages  also  were  feasted  in  the  village. 
They  had  come  on  with  the  Americans  to  meet  the 
Kansas  at  the  Pawnee  village  and  sit  in  peace  coun- 
cil. Pretty  Bird  was  their  head  chief. 

Everybody  was  curious  to  learn  from  the  Osages 
and  from  the  two  Pawnee-who-had-been-to-Wash'- 
ton  what  kind  of  people  these  Americans  were. 

"  They  live  in  a  country  wider  than  a  week's 
42 


THE  COMING  OF  THE  AMERICANS 

travel  by  horse,"  Frank  asserted.  "  You  are  never 
out  of  sight  of  their  lodges." 

"  Their  women  have  red  cheeks,  and  their  men 
are  in  number  of  the  buffalo,"  the  other  Pawnee 
asserted.  "  They  have  great  guns  that  shoot  a  mile 
and  speak  twice." 

"If  they  are  so  powerful  and  many,  why  do 
they  send  such  a  little  company  into  this  country, 
when  the  Spanish  father  sent  half  a  thousand  soldiers 
at  once?  "  inquired  Skidi.  "  These  are  spies." 

"  They  brought  us  forty-six  of  our  relatives, 
from  the  Potawatomi,"  said  an  Osage.  "  They  asked 
for  horses  to  go  on  with,  but  we  sold  them  few. 
Now  by  orders  of  the  great  father  at  Wash' ton  we 
are  to  make  peace  with  the  Kansas.  The  great  father 
wishes  his  red  children  to  fight  no  more." 

"  It  is  all  because  there  is  talk  of  war  between  the 
Spanish  and  the  Americans,"  Frank  wisely  declared. 
"  That  we  heard.  The  Americans  wish  to  keep  the 
Indians  from  the  war  trail,  so  that  they  can  march 
in  here  and  take  the  land." 

"  We  do  not  want  the  Americans  in  here,"  spoke 
Skidi.  "  Our  Spanish  father  warned  us  against  them. 
They  are  poor  and  stingy  or  they  would  have  sent 
a  large  company  and  an  old  chief  to  treat  with  us. 
They  will  get  no  help  from  the  Pawnee,  and  they 
must  go  back." 

43 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

The  American  chief  and  his  medicine-man  stayed 
a  long  time  in  the  Charakterik  lodge.  After  a  while 
Scar  Head's  older  brother  came  looking  for  him. 

"  White  Wolf  says  that  you  are  to  go  on  with 
the  two  Americans  up  to  their  camp  and  take  a  pony 
load  of  corn." 

"How  soon?" 

"  Now.  They  are  leaving.  The  pony  is  being 
packed." 

So  Scar  Head  hastened  to  the  lodge.  The  two 
Americans  were  bidding  Chief  Charakterik  goodby, 
and  were  about  to  mount  their  horses.  The  chief 
beckoned  to  Scar  Head  and  pointed  to  the  pony. 
Scar  Head  obediently  scrambled  atop  the  corn. 

"  Do  I  come  back  to-night?  "  he  asked. 

"  You  may  stay  till  morning,  and  see  what  you 
can  see.  Do  not  talk ;  and  be  sure  and  bring  back 
the  pony/' 

This  was  quite  an  adventure — to  ride  to  the 
American  camp  with  the  head  chief  and  the  medicine- 
man, and  maybe  spend  the  night  there.  Scar  Head's 
heart  beat  rapidly,  but  he  did  not  show  that  he  was 
either  frightened  or  delighted,  for  he  was  Indian, 
and  son  of  White  Wolf. 

He  guided  his  loaded  pony  in  the  rear  of  the  two 
trotting  horsemen.  Outside  the  town  Chief  Mungo- 

44 


THE  COMING  OF  THE  AMERICANS 

Meri  Pike  reined  in  and  dropped  back  beside  him, 
with  a  smile. 

They  eyed  each  other,  although  Scar  Head  did 
not  smile.  He  was  not  ready  to  smile,  and  White 
Wolf  had  told  him  not  to  talk. 

The  American  chief  had  a  clear  pink  and  brown 
skin  and  a  bright  blue  eye,  with  rather  large  nose 
and  mouth,  and  stubborn  chin.  His  manner  was 
quick  and  commanding ;  anybody  might  see  that  he 
was  a  chief. 

"  What  is  your  name?  "  he  asked,  suddenly,  in 
French. 

"  Scar  Head,"  answered  Scar  Head,  in  Pawnee. 

Evidently  the  American  chief  did  not  understand 
Pawnee,  for  he  looked  a  little  puzzled. 

"  Do  you  speak  French? "  he  demanded. 

"  Yes,  little,"  answered  Scar  Head. 

"  You  are  not  an  Indian?  " 

"  Yes,  Pawnee,"  grunted  Scar  Head. 

"  You  don't  look  like  a  Pawnee." 

"  Pawnee,"  Scar  Head  insisted,  as  he  had  been 
ordered  always  to  do,  by  Charakterik. 

"Who  is  your  father?" 

"  White  Wolf." 

"  Who  was  your  mother?  " 

"  Don't  know." 

"  Were  you  born  here  ?  " 
43 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

"  Don't  know." 

"  Do  you  speak  English?  " 

"  No." 

"How  old  are  you?" 

Scar  Head  held  up  the  fingers  of  his  two  hands; 
that  was  as  nearly  as  he  could  guess.  It  didn't 
matter,  anyway. 

The  American  chief  hailed  the  medicine-man  in 
the  American  language.  Scar  Head  did  not  under- 
stand, but  the  words  were :  "  Doctor,  I  don't  believe 
this  is  an  Indian  boy  at  all." 

Now  the  medicine-man  (he  was  a  young  man, 
with  brown  hair  on  his  face)  reined  back  to  ride 
upon  Scar  Head's  other  side.  He  spoke,  in  French. 

"  Are  you  an  Indian?  " 

"  Yes." 

"What  nation?" 

"  Pawnee." 

"  Where  did  the  Pawnee  get  you?  " 

"FromUtahs." 

"  Chief  Charakterik  is  not  your  father,  then?  " 

"  Yes.    My  father." 

"Your  mother  a  Utah?" 

"  Don't  know." 

"  How  long  has  Charakterik  been  your  father?  " 
The  medicine-man  was  smart. 

"Two  year." 

46 


THE  COMING  OF  THE  AMERICANS 

"  I  see.  The  Utahs  probably  traded  him  to  the 
Pawnees,  doctor,"  spoke  the  chief  Mungo-Meri  Pike, 
across,  in  the  language  that  Scar  Head  did  not  under- 
stand. "  And  Charakterik  adopted  him." 

"  The  Utahs  must  have  got  him  somewhere. 
He's  no  Indian,"  replied  the  medicine-man,  in  those 
strange  words.  "  He's  not  Spanish,  either."  And 
he  asked,  in  French,  of  Scar  Head: 

"  You  speak  Spanish?  " 

"  A  little." 

"You  speak  Utah?" 

Scar  Head  nodded.  He  was  growing  tired  of 
these  questionings. 

The  medicine-man  kept  eyeing  him. 

"Where  did  you  get  this?"  And  he  tapped 
his  own  head,  in  sign  of  the  patch  of  white  hair. 

"  My  name,"  answered  Scar  Head. 

"What  made  it?" 

"  Don't  know." 

"Did  the  Utahs  capture  you?" 

"  Don't  know." 

"  Where  were  you  before  the  Utahs  had  you  ?  " 

"  Don't  know." 

"  He  may  not  be  all  Indian,  but  he's  enough 
Indian  so  he  won't  tell  what  he  doesn't  want  to  tell," 
laughed  the  American  chief,  in  the  strange  words. 

The  medicine-man  shrugged  his  shoulders. 
47 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

"  I'd  like  to  take  him  along  with  us  and  find 
out  more  about  him.  By  the  shape  of  his  head 
he's  white  blood." 

The  three  jogged  on  in  silence.  Scar  Head  won- 
dered what  they  had  said,  with  those  words,  but  he 
was  glad  to  be  let  alone.  White  Wolf  had  forbid- 
den him  to  talk  with  strangers.  Nevertheless  he 
glanced  now  and  then  at  the  two  Americans.  He 
felt  more  friendly  toward  them.  They  seemed  kind. 

The  American  camp  was  not  far.  It  had  guards 
stationed,  who  saluted  the  American  chief  when  he 
passed.  At  his  lodge  fire  he  halted ;  a  head  warrior 
took  Scar  Head's  pony,  with  the  corn;  other  war- 
riors took  the  two  horses,  to  lead  them  away.  The 
American  second  chief  was  here.  While  he  and 
Chief  Mungo-Meri  Pike  talked,  Scar  Head  sat  by 
the  fire  and  looked  around,  to  see  what  was  going  on. 

The  camp  had  been  placed  upon  a  hill  for  pro- 
tection. There  were  only  four  or  five  lodges,  of 
canvas,  besides  the  chiefs  lodge.  The  American 
flag  was  flying  from  a  pole.  This  American  camp 
appeared  poor — nothing.  The  soldiers,  fifteen,  wore 
shabby  uniforms  of  sky  blue;  their  coats  were  short 
and  tight,  their  leggins  thin,  and  several  were 
mending  their  moccasins  of  heavy  leather.  They 

had  only  fifteen  extra  horses,  to  carry  their  bag- 

48 


THE  COMING  OF  THE  AMERICANS 

gage  and  the  presents.  There  was  a  black  dog. 
They  talked  and  laughed  much,  as  they  busied  them- 
selves or  waited  around  the  two  fires  that  they  had 
built.  The  hair  on  their  heads  was  of  different 
colors — brown,  and  black,  and  red,  and  gray.  So 
was  the  hair  on  their  faces.  They  were  quick,  active 
warriors — good  men,  evidently.  If  the  Pawnees 
fought  them,  it  would  be  hot  work  before  they  all 
were  wiped  out. 

Maybe,  thought  Scar  Head,  they  depended  upon 
the  medicine  of  their  "  doctor,"  to  help  them. 

Another  man,  who  could  talk  sign  language  and 
a  little  Pawnee,  came  and  sat  down  beside  him. 
He  was  the  interpreter  for  Chief  Pike. 

"  You're  no  Indian;  you're  white,"  he  accused, 
of  Scar  Head. 

"  Indian,"  said  Scar  Head 

"Where  did  you  come  from?" 

"  Utahs." 

"  Where  did  they  get  you?  " 

"  Don't  know." 

"Did  White  Wolf  buy  you  from  the  Utahs?" 

"  He  is  my  father." 

"You  speak  with  crooked  tongue,"  the  inter- 
preter accused.  "  You  are  white.  You  are  Ameri- 
can. Who  was  your  father?  " 

4  49 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

"  White  Wolf  is  my  father.  I  am  Pawnee.  I 
will  talk  no  more,'1  said  Scar  Head.  "  Let  me 
alone."  i 

After  that  nobody  bothered  him,  although  they 
all  eyed  him.  Why  did  they  tell  him  that  he  was 
white?  Did  he  wish  to  be  white?  Why  should  he 
be  white,  or  American,  when  the  Pawnee  were  a 
great  people  who  could  fight  even  the  Padoucah — 
the  Comanches  or  letans  as  they  were  called.  And 
if  one  were  white  instead  of  red,  it  would  be  better 
to  be  Spanish,  for  the  Spanish  were  rich  and  power- 
ful, and  their  king  owned  the  country. 

Yet — yet,  Scar  Head  could  not  help  but  admit 
that  these  Americans  bore  themselves  like  warriors ; 
this  Pike  must  be  a  bold  young  chief,  to  come  so 
far  with  so  few  men;  and  after  all,  perhaps  the 
Americans  might  prove  strong  in  medicine.  The 
Osages  and  the  two  Pawnee-who-had-been-to- 
Wash'ton  spoke  well  of  the  nation. 

The  medicine-man  approached  him  and  suddenly 
laid  fingers  upon  his  white  patch,  and  pressed. 

"Does  that  hurt?" 

Scar  Head  tried  not  to  wince,  for  hurt  it  did. 
He  squirmed  free. 

"  No." 

The  medicine-man  might  be  putting  an  evil  spell 
50 


THE  COMING  OF  THE  AMERICANS 

upon  him,  to  change  him  to  white ;  but  the  medicine- 
man only  smiled,  and  left  him. 

Having  eaten  of  meat  and  corn,  Scar  Head  slept 
in  the  chief's  lodge,  with  the  chief  himself  and  the 
medicine-man  whose  title  was  "  doctor."  When  he 
awakened  in  the  morning  he  was  safe  and  sound  still. 


Ill 

THE  PAWNEES  ARE  OF  TWO   MINDS 

"  THE  Kansas  arc  coming!  They  come  in  peace, 
but  make  ready  for  them." 

These  were  the  words  of  the  heralds  shouting 
through  the  great  town  of  the  Pawnee  Republic. 
Scar  Head  heard.  He  had  returned  this  morning 
from  the  American  camp  with  the  interpreter  (whose 
name  was  Baroney),  and  felt  rather  important  as 
the  other  boys  curiously  questioned  him.  To  Chief 
White  Wolf  he  had  only  good  to  report  of  the 
Americans.  They  had  treated  him  well,  aside  from 
bothering  him  with  talk  about  himself ;  but  he  had 
told  them  little.  The  fact  was,  he  did  not  know 
much  that  he  could  tell ! 

Baroney  had  wished  to  trade  for  provisions  and 
horses.  Now  it  was  afternoon,  and  new  excitement 
arose.  The  Kansas  were  coming!  A  peace  party 
of  them  had  halted,  out  on  the  prairie,  and  had  sent 
in  one  man  to  announce  them.  They  had  come 
by  order  of  the  American  father,  to  smoke  peace 
with  the  Osages. 

The  Osages  and  the  Kansas  had  long  been  bitter 
52 


THE  PAWNEES  ARE  OF  TWO  MINDS 

enemies;  the  Pawnees,  too,  had  lost  many  scalps  to 
the  Kansas,  although  just  at  present  there  was  no 
war  between  them. 

So  Chief  Charakterik  directed  that  the  Kansas 
be  well  received  and  feasted.  Baroney  the  American 
interpreter  took  word  up  to  the  Pike  camp  that 
the  Kansas  were  waiting. 

The  two  American  chiefs  exchanged  visits  with 
Chiefs  White  Wolf  and  Rich  Man,  and  the  Kansas 
chiefs.  In  a  council  held  the  next  day  the  Kansas 
principal  chief,  Wah-on-son-gay,  and  his  sub-chiefs, 
and  the  Osage  principal  chief,  Shin-ga-wa-sa  or 
Pretty  Bird,  and  his  sub-chiefs,  agreed  upon  paper 
that  the  nations  of  the  Kansas  and  the  Osage  should 
be  friends,  according  to  the  wish  of  their  American 
father. 

Wolf,  the  Pawnee,  laughed. 

"  It  will  last  only  until  spring,"  he  said.  "  No- 
body can  trust  the  Kansas ;  and  as  for  those  Osage, 
they  are  getting  to  be  a  nation  of  squaws.  One-half 
their  face  is  red,  the  other  half  is  white.  We  Pawnee 
are  all  red.  We  are  not  afraid  of  the  Kansas,  and 
we  shall  not  help  the  Americans.  They  are  a  small 
people  of  small  hearts,  as  the  Spanish  chief  said." 

This  might  appear  to  be  the  truth.  Chief  Charak- 
terik was  of  the  same  opinion.  He  and  Second 
Chief  Iskatappe  and  two  sub-chiefs  had  been  invited 

53 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

to  a  feast  by  the  American  chiefs.  When  they 
returned  they  were  scornful,  although  White  Wolf 
had  been  given  a  gun  with  two  barrels,  an  arm  band, 
and  other  things,  and  the  other  chiefs  also  had  been 
rewarded. 

Scar  Head  heard  Rich  Man  tell  about  it. 

"  Charakterik  wore  his  large  medal  given  him 
by  the  young  Spanish  chief.  They  did  not  ask  him 
to  take  it  off.  They  offered  me  a  little  American 
medal.  '  What  shall  I  do  with  that?  '  I  asked.  '  It 
is  not  a  medal  for  a  chief.  Those  two  young  warriors 
who  have  been  to  Wash'ton  were  given  bigger  medals 
than  this.  Let  the  American  father  send  me  a 
chief's  medal,  for  I  can  get  Spanish  medals.  I 
am  not  a  boy/  Yes/'  continued  Iskatappe,  "  the 
American  nation  must  be  very  mean  and  stingy. 
They  send  a  young  man  and  a  few  soldiers,  with 
little  medals  and  a  few  poor  presents,  to  talk  with 
the  great  Pawnee  nation.  But  the  Spanish  asked  us 
to  wait  until  next  spring,  when  they  will  send  us  a 
principal  chief  and  many  more  soldiers,  to  live  near 
us  and  treat  with  us  in  honorable  fashion." 

The  council  with  the  Americans  had  been  set 
for  the  next  day.  The  two  American  chiefs,  and 
Baroney  the  interpreter,  and  the  "  doctor/'  and  a 
guard  of  soldiers,  rode  down.  Chief  Charakterik 
assembled  four  hundred  warriors.  The  council  lodge 

54 


"  I    I5RIN(J    YOU    THE    AMERICAN    FLAG  " 


THE  PAWNEES  ARE  OF  TWO  MINDS 

was  crowded,  and  a  throng  of  women  and  boys  and 
girls  pressed  around,  outside,  to  peer  and  listen. 
Scar  Head  managed  to  squeeze  inside,  to  a  place 
where  he  might  see  and  hear.  The  Osages  and  the 
Kansas  were  inside,  too. 

After  the  pipe  had  been  passed  around  among 
the  chiefs,  Mungo-Meri  Pike  stood,  to  speak.  He 
threw  off  his  red-lined  blue  cloak,  and  stood  slim 
and  straight— a  handsome  young  man. 

Baroney  translated  for  him,  in  Pawnee  and  sign 
language. 

"  The  great  American  father  of  us  all,  at  Wash'- 
ton,  has  sent  me,"  he  said.  "  He  is  now  your  father. 
You  have  no  Spanish  father.  Not  long  ago  the 
Spanish  gave  up  all  this  country,  from  the  big  river 
to  the  mountains.  The  Americans  have  bought  it. 
The  Spanish  have  no  rights  here,  any  more.  Now 
your  American  father  has  sent  me  to  visit  among 
his  red  children,  to  tell  them  that  his  heart  is  good 
toward  them,  and  that  he  wishes  peace.  I  am  to 
take  back  word  of  them,  and  of  the  country,  so  that 
he  may  know.  I  am  surprised  to  see  that  you  are 
flying  the  Spanish  flag  at  the  lodge  door.  I  bring 
you  the  American  flag,  to  take  its  place.  You  can- 
not have  two  fathers  and  two  flags.  I  have  also 
brought  you  gifts.  They  are  here.  I  ask  you  to 
accept  them,  as  a  small  token  from  your  American 

5$ 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

father.  I  should  like  your  answer."  And  he  sat 
down. 

Chief  Charakterik  dropped  his  buffalo-robe  from 
his  shoulders,  to  stand  and  speak. 

"  We  hear  your  words,"  he  said,  "  We  thank 
you  for  the  presents.  We  wish  to  ask  where  you 
are  going  from  here?" 

"  We  are  going  on,  to  explore  the  country  and 
to  smoke  peace  with  the  letans,"  replied  Chief  Pike. 

"  We  knew  that  you  were  coming,"  spoke  White 
Wolf.  "  The  Spanish  chief  who  was  here  said  that 
you  were  coming.  He  said  that  the  Americans  were 
a  small  nation  but  greedy,  and  that  soon  they  would 
stretch  out  even  to  the  Pawnee,  and  claim  the  coun- 
try. Now  we  see  how  truly  the  Spanish  chief  saw 
ahead,  for  here  you  are.  We  do  not  wish  you  to  go 
on.  We  turned  the  Spanish  back,  until  they  should 
come  again  to  live  with  us.  We  will  turn  you  back. 
It  is  impossible  for  you  to  go  on.  You  are  few 
and  you  do  not  know  the  country.  The  Padoucah 
(Comanches)  are  many  and  powerful.  They  are 
our  enemies  and  the  friends  of  the  Spanish  and  will 
kill  you  all.  Yott  must  go  back  by  the  road  that  you 
came  on." 

The  young  Chief  Mungo-Meri  Pike  stood  up 
straighter  still,  and  answered  with  ringing  voice. 

"  I  have  been  sent  out  by  our  great  father  to 
56 


THE  PAWNEES  ARE  OF  TWO  MINDS 

travel  through  his  country,  to  visit  his  red  chil- 
dren, and  talk  peace.  You  have  seen  how  I  have 
brought  the  Osages  and  the  Kansas  together.  I 
wish  my  road  to  be  smooth,  with  a  blue  sky  over  my 
head.  I  have  not  seen  any  blood  in  the  trail.  But 
the  warriors  of  the  American  father  are  not  women, 
to  be  turned  back  by  words.  If  the  Pawnee  wish  to 
try  to  stop  me,  they  may  try.  We  are  men,  well 
armed,  and  will  take  many  lives  in  exchange  for 
our  own.  Then  the  great  father  will  send  other 
warriors,  to  gather  our  bones  and  to  avenge  our 
deaths,  and  our  spirits  will  hear  war-songs  sung  in 
praise  of  our  deeds.  We  shall  go  on.  I  ask  you 
for  horses,  and  somebody  who  speaks  Comanche, 
to  help  us;  and  I  ask  you  to  take  down  the  Spanish 
flag  and  hoist  the  flag  of  your  American  father, 
instead." 

That  was  a  defiant  speech,  and  Scar  Head  thrilled. 
Surely,  the  American  chief  was  a  man. 

Iskatappe  arose. 

"  We  do  not  want  peace  with  the  Padoucah,"  he 
said.  "  They  have  killed  six  of  our  young  men. 
We  must  have  scalps  in  payment,  so  that  the  young 
men's  relatives  can  wash  the  mourning  paint  from 
their  faces  and  be  happy.  It  would  be  foolish  for 
us  to  send  anybody  with  you  or  to  give  you  horses. 

57 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

We  have  been  satisfied  with  our  Spanish  father.  We 
do  not  wish  so  many  fathers. " 

He  sat  down. 

"  That  is  true,"  Chief  Pike  retorted.  "  You  do 
not  wish  many  fathers.  Now  you  have  only  the  one 
great  father.  He  is  your  American  father.  You 
have  not  answered  me  about  the  flag.  I  still  see  the 
Spanish  flag  flying  at  your  door.  I  think  you  ought 
to  lower  that  flag  and  put  up  this  American  flag, 
for  I  have  told  you  that  the  Spanish  do  not  rule  this 
land  any  more.  You  cannot  be  children  of  two 
fathers,  and  speak  with  two  tongues.  I  wish  an 
answer." 

Nobody  said  anything  for  a  long  time.  The 
American  chiefs  sat  there,  gazing  straight  in  front 
of  them,  and  waiting.  The  blue  eyes  of  Mungo- 
Meri  Pike  seemed  to  search  all  hearts.  Was  it  to  be 
peace  or  war?  Then  old  Sleeping  Bear,  the  head 
councillor  of  the  Pawnee  Republic,  got  up,  without 
a  word,  and  went  to  the  doorway,  and  took  down 
the  Spanish  flag  from  its  staff,  and  brought  it  to 
Chief  Pike.  Chief  Pike  handed  him  the  American 
flag,  of  red  and  white  stripes  like  the  sunset  and  the 
starry  sky  in  one  corner.  Old  Sleeping  Bear  carried 
it  and  fastened  it  to  the  staff. 

The  Osages  and  the  Kansas  grunted  "  Good," 
because  they  already  had  accepted  the  American 


THE  PAWNEES  ARE  OF  TWO  MINDS 

father ;  but  the  Pawnees  hung  their  heads  and  looked 
glum.  When  the  Spanish  came  back  and  found 
their  great  king's  flag  gone,  what  would  they  say  ? 

Chief  Pike  saw  the  downcast  faces,  and  read 
the  thoughts  behind  them.  His  heart  was  big,  after 
all,  and  he  did  not  wish  to  shame  the  Pawnee  nation, 
for  he  uttered,  quickly : 

"  You  have  shown  me  that  you  are  of  good  mind 
toward  your  father  in  Wash' ton.  I  do  not  seek  to 
make  trouble  between  you  and  the  Spanish.  We 
•will  attend  to  the  Spanish.  Should  there  be  war 
between  the  white  people,  the  wish  of  your  American 
father  is  that  his  red  children  stay  by  their  own  fires 
and  not  take  part.  In  case  that  the  Spanish  come 
and  demand  their  flag,  here  it  is.  I  give  it  to  you. 
I  ask  that  you  do  not  put  it  up  while  I  am  with  you, 
but  that  you  keep  the  American  flag  flying." 

"  We  thank  you.  We  will  do  as  you  say/'  White 
Wolf  responded;  and  every  face  had  brightened. 
"  In  return,  we  beg  you  not  to  go  on.  You  will 
lose  your  way.  It  will  soon  be  winter,  and  you  have 
no  winter  clothes,  I  see.  The  Spanish  will  capture 
you.  If  they  do  not  capture  you,  the  Padoucah 
will  kill  you.  It  will  be  pitiful." 

Soon  after  this  the  council  broke  up.  Chief 
Mungo-Meri  Pike  was  still  determined ;  he  had  not 
been  frightened  by  the  words.  His  men  tried  to 

59 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

buy  horses,  but  Chief  White  Wolf  had  the  orders 
spread  that  no  horses  were  to  be  supplied  to  the 
Americans.  When  some  of  the  Pawnees  went  to  the 
American  camp,  to  trade,  Skidi  and  two  other  "  dog 
soldiers ?>  or  police  followed  them  and  drove  them 
home  with  whips  of  buffalo-hide. 

Iskatappe  only  waited  for  other  orders,  to  muster 
the  warriors  and  capture  the  camp. 

"  It  can  be  done/'  he  said.  "  We  doubtless  shall 
lose  many  men,  for  I  think  the  Americans  are  hard 
fighters.  We  might  do  better  to  attack  them  on  the 
march." 

Some  of  the  older  men  were  against  fighting. 

"  We  should  not  pull  hot  fat  out  of  the  fire  with 
our  fingers,  for  the  Spanish,"  they  said.  "  Let  the 
Spanish  stop  the  Americans,  if  they  can.  We  will 
stay  at  home  and  put  up  the  flag  of  the  stronger 
nation." 

Meanwhile  the  young  warriors  liked  to  gallop 
near  the  American  camp  and  shake  their  lances  and 
guns  at  it.  The  American  warriors  laughed  and 
shouted. 

For  the  next  few  days  Boy  Scar  Head  was  all 
eyes  and  ears.  The  Americans  kept  close  in  camp 
and  were  very  watchful.  Only  Baroney  the  inter- 
preter rode  back  and  forth,  looking  for  horses. 
Chief  Charakterik  seemed  much  troubled.  He  had 

60 


THE  PAWNEES  ARE  OF  TWO  MINDS 

not  counted  upon  the  Americans  being  so  stubborn. 
He  sent  the  Kansas  home.  They  had  promised  to 
guide  the  Americans ;  but  he  gave  Wah-on-son-ga  a 
gun  and  two  horses,  and  told  him  that  the  Padou- 
cahs  would  certainly  kill  everybody;  so  Wah-on- 
son-ga  took  his  men  home. 

Frank,  the  Pawnee-who-had-been-to-Wash'ton, 
stole  the  wife  of  an  Osage  and  ran  away  with  her. 
This  made  the  Osages  angry ;  and  now  the  Ameri- 
cans were  getting  angry,  too. 

They  had  found  only  three  or  four  horses. 
Then — 

"  The  Americans  are  going  to  march  to- 
morrow ! " 

That  was  the  word  from  the  warriors  who  spied 
upon  the  camp.  Chief  Pike  rode  down,  unafraid, 
with  Baroney,  to  White  Wolf's  lodge.  Scar  Head 
hid  in  a  corner,  to  hear  what  was  said.  He  liked  the 
crisp  voice  and  the  handsome  face  of  this  young 
Mungo-Meri  Pike.  Maybe  he  would  never  see  him 
again. 

"  Why  have  you  told  the  Kansas  to  go  home, 
and  made  them  break  their  promise  to  me?  "  de- 
manded Chief  Pike,  of  White  Wolf. 

"  The  hearts  of  the  Kansas  failed  them.  They 
decided  they  would  only  be  throwing  their  lives 

61, 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

away,  to  go  with  such  a  small  party  into  the  country 
of  the  Padoucah,"  answered  White  Wolf. 

"  You  frightened  them  with  your  stories/'  Chief 
Pike  accused.  "  That  was  not  right.  I  have  come 
from  your  father,  to  make  peace  among  his  red  chil- 
dren. Why  do  you  forbid  your  men  to  trade  us 
horses?  You  have  plenty.  Why  do  you  not  lend 
us  a  man  who  speaks  the  letan  tongue,  to  help  us?  " 

"  If,  as  you  say,  we  all  are  children  of  the  Ameri- 
can father,  then  we  do  not  wish  our  brothers  to  give 
up  their  lives/*  White  Wolf  said.  "  But  we  do  not 
know.  The  Spanish  claim  this  country,  too.  They 
are  coming  back  next  spring.  We  promised  them 
not  to  let  you  march  through.  You  can  come  next 
spring  and  talk  with  them." 

"  No !  "  thundered  Chief  Pike.  "  We  are  going 
to  march  on.  We  are  Americans  and  will  go  where 
we  are  ordered  by  the  great  father.  The  Osages 
have  given  us  five  of  their  horses.  They  have  shown 
a  good  heart.  I  will  speak  well  of  them,  to  their 
father/* 

"  They  gave  you  their  poor  horses,  because  they 
got  better  ones  from  us,"  replied  White  Wolf. 

"If  the  Pawnee  try  to  stop  us,  it  will  cost  them 
at  least  one  hundred  warriors/'  Chief  Pike  asserted. 
"  You  will  have  to  kill  every  one  of  us,  and  we  will 
die  fighting.  Then  the  American  nation  will  send 

62 


THE  PAWNEES  ARE  OF  TWO  MINDS^ 

such  an  army  that  the  very  name  Pawnee  will  be 
forgotten."  He  arose,  and  his  flashing  blue  eyes 
marked  Boy  Scar  Head  huddled  upon  a  roll  of 
buffalo-robes.  "Who  is  that  boy?"  he  asked. 

"  He  is  my  son,"  Charakterik  answered. 

"  He  cannot  be  your  son,"  reproved  Chief  Pike. 
"  He  is  white,  you  are  red.  I  think  he  is  an  Ameri- 
can. Where  did  you  get  him?  " 

"  He  is  my  son.  I  have  adopted  him,"  White 
Wolf  insisted.  "  I  got  him  from  the  Utahs." 

"  Where  are  his  parents?  " 

"I  am  his  parent.  I  do  not  know  anything 
more." 

"  You  must  give  him  up.  He  is  not  an  Indian," 
said  Chief  Pike. 

"  He  is  a  Pawnee.  Why  should  I  give  him  up?  " 
argued  Charakterik. 

"  Because  the  great  father  wishes  all  captives  to 
be  given  up.  The  Potawatomi  had  many  captives 
from  the  Osage.  They  have  been  given  up.  There 
cannot  be  good  feeling  between  people  when  they 
hold  captives  from  each  other.  I  ask  you  to  send  this 
boy  down  river.  Two  French  traders  are  in  your 
town  now.  You  can  send  the  boy  with  them." 

"  I  will  think  upon  what  you  say,"  White  Wolf 
replied. 

63 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

So  Chief  Pike  left 

"  Why  did  you  come  in  here  to  listen?  "  scolded 
White  Wolf,  of  Scar  Head.  "  You  are  making  me 
trouble.  Do  you  want  to  be  sent  away  with  those 
traders?" 

"  No,"  Scar  Head  admitted.  For  the  two  French 
traders  were  dark,  dirty  little  men,  not  at  all  like  the 
Americans.  He  preferred  the  Pawnees  to  those 

traders.  But  if  he  were  an  American,  himself ? 

An  American  the  same  as  the  Pike  Americans !  That 
sounded  good. 

He  could  see  that  White  Wolf  was  troubled ;  and 
the  rest  of  the  day  he  kept  out  of  sight.  Early  in 
the  morning  the  two  French  traders  went  away,  but 
he  had  not  been  sent  for.  Chief  Charakterik  prob- 
ably had  matters  of  more  importance  to  think  about. 

The  Americans  were  breaking  camp.  The  Paw- 
nee young  men,  urged  by  Iskatappe  and  Skidi,  were 
painting  for  battle,  while  the  women  filled  the  quivers 
and  sharpened  the  lance  points,  and  cleaned  the  guns 
afresh. 

The  sun  mounted  higher.  A  close  watch  was 
kept  upon  the  American  camp,  plain  in  view  up  the 
Republican  River.  Shortly  after  noon  the  cry 
welled : 

"  They  are  coming!  Shall  we  let  them  pass?  " 
64 


THE  PAWNEES  ARE  OF  TWO  MINDS 

"No!    Kill  them!" 

"  See  where  they  are  going,  first." 

"  Wait  till  they  are  in  the  village." 

Nobody  knew  exactly  what  to  do.  The  Ameri- 
cans were  marching  down,  their  horses  together, 
their  ranks  formed,  their  guns  ready;  and  they 
looked  small  beside  the  four  hundred  and  more 
warriors  of  the  Pawnees.  It  was  a  brave  act. 

"  They  are  not  striking  the  village.  They  are 
going  around,"  Rich  Man  shouted.  "  We  shall  have 
to  fight  them  in  the  open.  That  is  bad." 

The  young  warriors  like  Skidi  ran  to  and  fro, 
handling  their  bows  and  lances  and  guns.  They 
waited  for  orders  from  White  Wolf;  but  White 
Wolf  only  stood  at  the  door  of  his  lodge,  with  his 
arms  folded,  and  said  nothing  as  he  watched  the 
American  column. 

Mungo-Meri  Pike  was  smart.  He  acted  like  a 
war  chief.  He  was  marching  around,  far  enough 
out  so  that  if  he  were  attacked  the  Pawnees  could 
not  hide  behind  their  mud  houses.  Now  to  charge 
on  those  well-armed  Americans,  in  the  open,  would 
cost  many  lives;  and  no  Pawnee  wished  to  be  the 
first  to  fall. 

The  Americans  had  come  opposite,  and  no  gun 
had  yet  been  fired,  when  on  a  sudden  Chief  Pike  left 
5  65 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

them.  With  Baroney  and  one  soldier  he  galloped 
across,  for  the  village.  That  was  a  bold  deed,  but  he 
did  not  seem  to  fear.  He  paid  no  attention  to  the 
warriors  who  scowled  at  him.  He  made  way 
through  them  straight  to  Chief  Charakterik.  He 
spoke  loudly,  so  that  all  about  might  hear. 

"  I  have  come  to  say  good-by.  I  hope  that  when 
we  come  again  we  will  find  the  great  father's  flag 
still  flying/* 

"  You  had  better  go  quickly/'  White  Wolf  re- 
plied. "  The  Spanish  will  be  angry  with  us,  and 
my  young  men  are  hard  to  hold." 

"We  are  going/'  Chief  Pike  assured.  "  We  are 
going,  as  we  said  we  would.  If  your  young  men 
mean  to  stop  us,  let  them  try.  Two  of  our  horses 
were  stolen  from  us  this  morning.  They  were  Paw- 
nee horses.  One  was  returned  to  us  by  your  men. 
The  other  is  missing.  I  am  sure  that  the  Pawnee 
do  not  sell  us  horses  at  a  high  price,  so  as  to  steal 
them.  That  is  not  honest.  If  you  are  a  chief  you 
will  get  the  horse  back  for  us,  or  the  Pawnee  will 
have  a  bad  name  for  crooked  tongues.  So  I  will 
leave  one  of  my  men,  who  will  receive  the  horse 
and  bring  it  on.  He  will  wait  till  the  sun  is  over- 
head, to-morrow." 

"  I  will  see  what  I  can  do,"  White  Wolf  an- 

66 


THE  PAWNEES  ARE  OF  TWO  MINDS 

swered.  "  The  horse  may  have  only  strayed.  A 
present  might  find  him  again.*' 

"  The  horse  is  ours,"  reproved  Chief  Pike.  "  I 
shall  not  buy  it  twice.  If  the  Pawnees  are  honest 
and  wish  to  be  friends  with  their  American  brothers, 
they  will  return  the  horse  to  me.  I  shall  expect  it, 
to-morrow.  Adios." 

"Adios,"  grunted  White  Wolf,  wrapping  his 
robe  about  him. 

Chief  Pike  and  Baroney  the  interpreter  galloped 
for  the  column.  They  left  the  soldier.  Now  he 
was  one  American  among  all  the  Pawnees,  but  he 
did  not  act  afraid,  either. 

He  sat  his  horse  and  gazed  about  him  with  a 
smile.  He  was  a  stout,  chunky  man,  in  stained  blue 
clothes.  His  face  was  partly  covered  with  red  hair, 
and  the  hair  on  his  head,  under  his  slouched  black 
hat,  was  red,  too.  He  carried  a  long-barreled  heavy 
gun  in  the  hollow  of  one  arm. 

"  Get  down/'  signed  White  Wolf.  "  Come  into 
my  lodge."  And  he  waved  the  crowding  warriors 
back. 

The  red-haired  soldier  got  down  and  entered  the 
lodge.  Here  he  was  safe.  Everything  of  his  was 
safe  as  long  as  he  was  a  guest  of  a  lodge.  Scar 
Head  slipped  in  after  him,  but  White  Wolf  stayed 
outside. 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

"  The  American  chief  has  lost  a  horse,"  he  an- 
nounced. "  The  horse  must  be  brought  back,  or  we 
shall  have  a  bad  name  with  our  American  father/' 

"If  the  American  chief  has  lost  a  horse,  let  him 
promise  a  present  and  maybe  it  will  be  found," 
answered  Skidi. 

"  That  is  no  way  to  talk,"  Charakterik  rebuked. 
"  I  want  the  horse  brought  to  me ;  then  we  will  see 
about  the  present." 

"  The  present  is  here  already,"  laughed  Skidi. 
"  It  is  in  your  lodge.  The  American  chief  would 
have  done  better  to  lose  all  his  horses  and  say  noth- 
ing, for  a  red  scalp  is  big  medicine." 

And  all  the  warriors  laughed. 

Inside  the  lodge  the  American  soldier  grinned  at 
Scar  Head.  Scar  Head  grinned  back. 

"  Hello,"  said  the  soldier. 

Scar  Head  had  heard  that  word  several  times. 
Now  he  blurted  it,  himself. 

"  H'lo." 

This  was  the  end  of  the  conversation,  but  Scar 
Head  did  a  lot  of  thinking.  He  well  knew  where 
the  horse  was.  Skidi  had  stolen  it  and  hidden  it  out, 
and  boasted  of  his  feat.  Now  Skidi  was  talking  of 
keeping  the  red-hair.  That  did  not  seem  right.  The 
Americans  were  brave.  If  somebody — a  boy — 

68 


THE  PAWNEES  ARE  OF  TWO  MINDS 

should  go  out  and  bring  the  horse  in,  then  Skidi 
might  not  dare  to  claim  it,  and  White  Wolf  would 
send  it  and  the  red-hair  on  to  Pike,  and  there  would 
be  no  more  trouble.  Yes,  being  an  American,  him- 
self (as  they  had  said),  Scar  Head  decided  that  he 
ought  to  help  the  other  Americans. 
He  would  get  the  horse. 


IV 

ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  SPANIARDS 

EARLY  in  the  morning,  before  yet  even  the 
squaws  were  stirring,  Scar  Head  slipped  out  to  get 
the  horse.  He  found  it  picketed  near  the  river,  just 
where  Skidi  had  cleverly  concealed  it.  He  led  it  in 
and  tied  it  short,  before  the  lodge  door.  Then  he 
crept  back  to  bed  again.  It  would  be  safe,  for  no- 
body would  dare  remove  it  from  the  limits  of  the 
chief's  lodge. 

The  squaws  were  up  first,  of  course,  to  start 
the  fires  and  prepare  the  breakfasts.  Charakterik's 
two  wives,  an  old  one  and  a  young  one,  arose  and 
went  outside.  Lying  quiet  Scar  Head  heard  them 
talking. 

"  Someone  has  brought  a  horse  "  said  the  young 
squaw.  "  It  is  a  Pawnee  horse." 

"  That  is  queer,"  said  the  old  squaw.  "  Who 
is  making  White  Wolf  such  a  present?  This  must 
be  the  horse  that  was  stolen  from  the  Americans. 
The  thief  has  changed  his  heart,  and  grown  afraid." 

"  Or  else  it  is  a  marriage  gift,"  giggled  the 
70 


ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  SPANIARDS 

young  squaw.  "  Someone  is  looking  for  a  wife 
in  our  lodge." 

"  Who  is  there,  to  be  married?  "  the  old  squaw 
demanded. 

"  We  are  the  only  women,  so  it  must  be  that 
someone  is  in  love  with  me,"  the  young  squaw 
giggled  again. 

"  You!  "  scoffed  the  old  squaw.  "  Who  would 
look  at  you  ?  You  are  not  worth  a  horse.  No ;  the 
horse  offering  is  made  for  me." 

And  they  both  laughed.  They  knew  better  than 
to  rouse  Charakterik  and  tell  him.  Their  business 
was  to  get  the  breakfast,  and  let  him  discover  the 
horse,  himself. 

White  Wolf  and  the  American  soldier  were  still 
snoozing  upon  their  buffalo-robe  couches.  Pretty 
soon  Scar  Head  could  wait  no  longer.  He  went 
outside,  yawning  and  rubbing  his  eyes,  and  pre- 
tended to  be  surprised  by  the  horse. 

"  Whose  horse  is  that?  "  he  queried. 

"Ask  it,  and  maybe  you  will  know  more  than 
we  do." 

"Who  brought  it?" 

"  That  is  none  of  our  affair;  nor  of  yours,  either. 
It  was  here  when  we  came  out." 

"  It  had  not  been  here  very  long,"  added  the 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

young  squaw,  to  the  elder.  "  See?  The  ground  is 
only  little  trampled." 

"If  you  want  to  know  where  it  came  from," 
continued  the  old  squaw,  to  Scar  Head,  "  you  should 
trail  it  back,  instead  of  asking  silly  questions." 

"  Yes,  and  get  into  trouble.  A  gift  is  a  gift,  and 
not  to  be  doubted,"  the  young  squaw  added. 

At  this,  Scar  Head  ran  off,  to  the  river,  for  his 
morning  swim.  When  he  returned,  Chief  Charak- 
terik  and  the  American  soldier  were  up  and  out, 
too,  and  surveying  the  horse. 

"  Do  you  know  where  this  horse  came  from?  " 
White  Wolf  questioned,  of  his  wives. 

"No.    It  was  here.     That  is  all." 

"  The  man  who  stole  the  horse  from  the  Ameri- 
cans has  returned  it,"  declared  White  Wolf.  "  Good. 
Is  this  the  horse  you  are  waiting  for?"  he  asked, 
of  the  soldier. 

The  soldier  did  not  understand  the  words,  but 
he  understood  the  gesture.  Now  he  smiled  and 
replied  in  his  own  language — which  nobody  else 
understood.  But  he  nodded  and  pointed  to  the 
horse  and  in  the  direction  of  the  Americans;  and 
they  all  understood  that. 

"  After  you  have  eaten,  you  may  take  the  horse 
and  go  your  way,"  White  Wolf  bade,  well  satisfied. 

So  the  matter  seemed  to  be  settled;  but  some- 
72 


ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  SPANIARDS 

how,  Scar  Head  did  not  feel  quite  happy.  The 
matter  was  settled  too  easily.  In  a  few  minutes 
the  soldier  would  go ;  then  all  the  Americans  would 
be  gone,  and  he  himself  would  have  lost  them.  In 
fact,  he  didn't  seem  to  be  getting  much  out  of  his 
scheme,  except  that  he  may  have  saved  the  soldier's 
scalp.  Skidi  would  be  angry,  too,  when  he  found 
out  that  the  horse  and  soldier  both  had  gone.  Some- 
body would  suffer — and  Scar  Head  rather  foresaw 
who  that  somebody  might  be!  Skidi  could  make 
things  very  uncomfortable. 

But  before  they  were  done  eating,  here  came 
Skidi  and  several  others,  of  the  men,  all  furious. 

"  There  is  the  horse/'  exclaimed  Skidi.  "  And 
there  is  the  red-haired  white  man.  We  are  in  time." 

"What  is  all  this  shouting  about?"  reproved 
White  Wolf.  "  This  is  no  way  to  come  to  a  chief's 
lodge." 

"  We  come  for  a  horse  that  has  been  stolen  by 
that  white  man,"  Skidi  boldly  retorted.  "There 
it  is.  We  claim  it." 

"  No.  The  horse  belongs  to  the  American  chief. 
His  soldier  is  here  to  get  it.  We  talked  about  that 
yesterday.  I  will  talk  no  more." 

"  I  will  talk,  for  I  am  a  man,"  answered  Skidi. 
"  You  let  the  white  man  eat  at  your  fire  and  sleep 
in  your  lodge,  and  during  the  night  he  steals  a  horse. 

73 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

Are  you  a  chief,  that  you  close  your  eyes  to  such 
things?  We  ask  for  our  horse,  or  else  a  large 
present." 

"Whose  horse  is  it?" 

"  It  is  a  Pawnee  horse,  and  that  is  enough." 

"  The  horse  was  not  here  last  night,  but  it  was 
here  early  this  morning,"  announced  White  Wolf. 
"  The  American  did  not  go  out  and  get  it  I  am 
sure  of  that.  If  he  did,  why  should  he  have  brought 
it  here,  if  he  had  stolen  it?  He  could  have  easily 
made  off  with  it,  and  others.  No;  the  thief  who 
took  the  horse  from  the  Americans  has  returned  it, 
as  is  right.  Let  the  man  who  claims  to  own  the 
horse  come  forward.  But  I  think  there  is  nothing 
more  to  be  said." 

The  soldier  was  sitting,  in  his  stained  blue  clothes, 
and  gazing  around  with  a  good-natured  smile  on  his 
hairy  face;  but  Scar  Head  could  see  that  he  was 
thinking  fast,  and  ready  to  spring  for  the  lodge 
and  his  gun. 

"Are  you  going  to  send  him  away  with  the 
horse?  " 

"Who  owns  the  horse?"  White  Wolf  replied. 
"  Why  was  it  left  at  my  lodge  door  if  not  for  the 
American  to  take  with  him?  Somebody  had  bad 
dreams,  and  went  and  got  the  horse,  so  that  he 
might  sleep." 

74 


ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  SPANIARDS 

"In  that  case,  the  man  deserves  a  present," 
Skidi  declared.  "  Let  a  present  be  given  in  ex- 
change for  the  horse  and  the  American  may  go." 

"  To  whom  shall  the  present  be  given?  "  White 
Wolf  inquired. 

"  I  will  take  the  present,  and  give  it  to  the  man 
who  owns  the  horse,"  said  Skidi.  "  But  of  course  if 
he  has  done  this  good  deed  he  may  wish  to  be 
secret  about  it,  and  if  he  is  accused  of  having  done 
an  evil  deed  in  the  first  place,  he  does  not  wish  to 
be  pointed  at  as  a  thief." 

"  The  American  chief  sent  no  present.  He  only 
asked  for  a  horse  that  had  been  taken  from  him. 
Here  it  is,  left  on  the  prairie  at  my  door,  and  I  give 
it  back  to  him." 

With  that,  Chief  Charakterik  stood  and  folded 
his  robe  around  him,  as  sign  that  he  was  done.  The 
soldier  rose,  also. 

But  the  squad  led  by  Skidi  murmured  angrily. 
Somebody  reached  to  grasp  the  horse's  neck  rope — 

"  No.    Let  him  take  it.    He  will  not  go  far." 

"  There  will  be  a  red  scalp,  for  a  dance,  to-night." 

"The  Americans  will  think  the  Pawnee  are 
cowards,  if  all  they  need  do  is  ask  for  a  horse 
and  get  it." 

"  You  talk  like  children,"  White  Wolf  reproved. 
"  Who  among  you  claims  the  horse?  Nobody.  Why 

75 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

was  it  left  at  my  door,  if  not  for  me  ?  Or  did  it  come 
of  itself?  It  is  mine  and  I  can  do  with  it  as  I 
please." 

"  But  the  present!  You  will  shame  all  the  town 
if  you,  a  great  chief,  yield  this  way  to  the  Americans. 
There  is  no  proof  that-  they  have  lost  a  horse,  and 
why  should  you  give  one  up  to  them,  for  nothing? 
You  have  no  right  to  give  the  horse  away  until  you 
find  out  why  it  was  left  at  your  lodge.  You  should 
wait  and  find  out.  People  do  not  leave  horses  at 
lodges  without  expecting  something  in  return.  I 
may  have  left  the  horse,  myself;  and  I  might  look 
for  a  present.  Where  is  the  present  ?  " 

Thus  Skidi  cunningly  argued. 

"  Yes,  where  is  the  present?  "  they  all  demanded. 
"  You  need  not  make  it,  yourself.  You  can  ask  it 
from  the  Americans.  Or  tell  the  soldier  to  go;  and 
if  he  doesn't  like  to  go  alone,  we  will  help  him  on 
his  way." 

Scar  Head  suddenly  spoke  up. 

"  The  American  can  have  the  horse,  White  Wolf. 
I  brought  it,  and  I  want  no  present." 

Everybody  gaped.  White  Wolf  turned  on  him 
severely. 

"  You?  You  are  a  boy.  Why  do  you  say  the 
American  can  have  the  horse?  If  you  brought  it, 
where  did  you  get  it?  " 

76 


ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  SPANIARDS 

"  I  found  it." 

"Whose  horse  is  it?" 

"  It  belongs  to  the  American  chief.  It  is  the 
one  he  lost." 

"  How  do  you  know  ?  " 

"  I  know,"  said  Scar  Head.  "  It  was  hidden, 
but  I  went  and  got  it." 

"  You  lie !  You  are  a  meddler !  "  Skidi  stormed, 
furious.  "  Wait  till  I  lay  my  hands  on  you." 

"  I  do  not  lie.  I  brought  the  horse,  and  I  can 
show  where  I  found  it,"  Scar  Head  answered. 

"  That  is  boy's  talk,"  appealed  Skidi.  "  Look  at 
him!  He  is  no  Pawnee,  as  everybody  knows.  He 
is  not  even  an  Indian.  Who  can  believe  what  he 
says?  Are  warriors  to  be  ruled  by  a  boy?  I  de- 
mand a  council,  on  this  horse — and  I  will  attend  to 
that  piece  of  impudence  when  I  catch  him  away 
from  the  lodge." 

Chief  Charakterik  hesitated.  Attracted  by  the 
loud  voice  of  Skidi  the  village  was  gathering;  Iska- 
tappe  had  come,  and  Old  Knife,  and  other  leading 
men  who  were  unfriendly  to  the  Americans;  and 
Scar  Head  felt  small.  Now  Skidi  had  called  for  a 
council ;  and  between  the  council  and  Skidi  the  red- 
haired  soldier  and  he  himself  were  likely  to  fare 
rather  badly.  Charakterik,  too,  looked  angry.  Only 

77 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

the  soldier  stood  smiling,  backed  against  the  lodge 
doorway,  his  gun  in  his  hands. 

But  right  in  the  midst  of  the  crisis,  somebody  else 
arrived.  It  was  Baroney,  the  interpreter  for  Chief 
Pike. 

"  Go  into  the  lodge,"  ordered  White  Wolf,  to 
Scar  Head.  "  You  have  made  bad  work.  I  will 
talk  with  you  later." 

Scar  Head  went  in,  disgraced.  Outside,  the 
voices  continued,  with  White  Wolf,  and  Skidi,  and 
Baroney  doing  most  of  the  speaking,  and  Rich  Man 
and  Letalesha  adding  remarks. 

After  a  short  time  they  all  quit.  White  Wolf 
entered,  with  Baroney  and  the  soldier. 

"  You  are  going  away,"  he  said.  "  You  may  get 
your  yellow  pony  and  make  ready." 

"Where  am  I  going?" 

"  With  these  two  men,  to  the  American  camp. 
The  horse  matter  is  settled.  The  American  chief 
has  sent  a  present,  for  the  horse.  Everybody  is  satis- 
fied. But  you  did  a  wrong  thing,  when  you  inter- 
fered in  men's  affairs.  Why  did  you  do  that?  " 

"  I  like  the  Americans,"  Scar  Head  stammered. 

"  Yes,"  replied  White  Wolf.  "  What  Skidi  said 
is  true.  You  are  not  red,  you  are  white,  and  they  all 
know  it.  You  can  never  be  an  Indian.  Now  you 
have  lost  friends.  The  Pawnee  will  always  look  at 

78 


ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  SPANIARDS 

you  sideways,  and  Skidi  is  likely  to  harm  you.  So 
I  give  you  to  the  American  chief,  to  be  rid  of  you 
before  you  are  hurt.  He  asked  me  to  send  you  away. 
If  I  keep  you  it  may  mean  trouble  for  me  also.  Get 
your  horse.  These  two  men  are  waiting." 

His  brain  in  a  whirl,  Scar  Head  hastened  out, 
for  his  yellow  pony.  As  he  passed  through  the  vil- 
lage, there  were  scowls  and  jeers,  because  now  no- 
body respected  him  as  the  chief's  son ;  but  he  did  not 
care.  He  was  an  American,  and  these  Pawnees 
were  no  longer  his  people.  So  he  tried  to  walk  fast, 
like  an  American,  and  pay  no  attention  to  the  black 
looks  and  the  slurs. 

He  rode  back,  on  his  pony.  The  two  men  were 
waiting,  on  their  horses,  with  the  other  horse  in  tow. 
White  Wolf's  lodge  received  him  kindly.  His 
brother,  White  Wolf's  real  son,  handed  him  a  horn 
bow  and  otter-skin  quiver  of  arrows. 

"They  are  for  you.  Do  not  forget  your 
brother." 

The  old  squaw  put  new  beaded  moccasins  upon 
his  feet. 

"  They  are  for  you.  Do  not  forget  your 
mother." 

The  young  squaw  clasped  a  silver  bracelet  upon 
his  wrist. 

"  It  is  for  you.     Do  not  forget  your  sister." 
79 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

White  Wolf  threw  a  white-tanned  robe,  soft  and 
warm,  from  a  young  buffalo-cow,  over  his  shoulders. 

"  Do  not  forget  your  father.  You  did  wrong, 
but  your  heart  was  good.  Remember  that  you  have 
been  a  chief's  son.  Always  bear  yourself  like  a 
warrior.  To  a  warrior,  heat  and  cold  and  thirst 
and  hunger  are  nothing.  A  brave  man  lives,  while 
a  coward  dies.  Now  go." 

"  Come,"  said  Baroney.  The  stocky  soldier 
smiled  brightly. 

With  never  a  backward  glance  they  galloped  out 
of  the  town,  into  the  south  and  on. 

Baroney  began  to  lead.  With  the  horse  in  tow, 
the  soldier  slackened,  to  ride  alongside  Scar  Head. 
He  grinned,  and  spoke. 

"  Hello,"  he  said,  again. 

"  H'lo,"  responded  Scar  Head. 

The  soldier  rubbed  his  nose,  as  if  figuring  upon 
what  to  say  next. 

"  American,  you?  "  he  queried. 

Scar  Head  caught  the  word,  and  nodded.  The 
soldier  spoke  farther,  with  another  question. 

"  He  asks  your  name,"  called  back  Baroney.  "  I 
will  tell  him.  His  name  is  Sparks.  He  is  a  good 
man.  They  are  all  good  men.  You  will  be  happy 
with  the  Americans." 

"Sparks!"     That  was  a  simple  name  and  a 

80 


ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  SPANIARDS 

good  one,  because  it  fitted.  Fire  might  be  his  medi- 
cine; the  stiff  bright  hairs  of  his  face  were  the  red 
sparks,  shooting  out. 

The  American  chief  had  camped  at  only  a  short 
distance  from  the  Pawnee  town,  waiting  on  peace  or 
war.  There  were  shouts  of  welcome,  for  Baroney 
and  Sparks,  and  many  curious  gazes  for  Scar  Head. 
He  rode  proudly,  on  his  yellow  pony,  with  his  war- 
rior's bow  and  arrows,  his  chief-beaded  moccasins, 
his  bracelet  and  his  white  cow-robe.  He  was  no 
longer  afraid  of  the  Americans.  Baroney  took  him 
on  to  Chief  Pike,  who  was  standing  beside  his 
saddled  horse. 

The  camp  lodges  had  been  struck,  the  Americans 
were  ready  to  march. 

Baroney  explained  to  the  young  chief.  Chief 
Pike  listened — he  nodded,  and  spoke,  and  with  a 
smile  reached  to  shake  Scar  Head's  hand.  The 
medicine  man  also  spoke,  and  smiled,  and  shook 
hands.  The  young  second  chief  came  and  did  the 
same.  Then  they  got  on  their  horses. 

"  It  is  well,"  said  Baroney  to  Scar  Head.  "  You 
will  ride  in  front,  with  the  chiefs." 

"Where  do  we  go?" 

"  We  go  to  the  mountains,  and  to  find  the  letans." 

Scar  Head  said  nothing,  to  that.  It  was  a  long 
way,  and  the  danger  way,  but  he  was  with  braves 

6  81 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

who  seemed  to  feel  no  fears.  They  appeared  to 
know  what  they  were  about. 

Chief  Pike  shouted  a  command  and  led  out.  The 
second  chief  repeated  the  command,  and  turned  in 
his  saddle  to  see  that  it  was  obeyed;  then  he  gal- 
loped to  the  fore.  The  two  chiefs  rode  first,  side 
by  side.  Baroney  signed,  and  Scar  Head  found 
himself  between  Baroney  and  the  medicine-man. 
Four  Osages,  still — Chief  Pretty  Bird,  two  warriors 
and  a  woman — followed.  The  American  warriors 
trudged  after,  two  by  two,  in  a  column,  with  the 
extra  horses  bearing  packs. 

The  warriors  numbered  eighteen.  It  was  a  small 
party,  for  a  great  nation,  when  one  remembered  that 
the  Spanish  had  sent  several  hundred  and  that  the 
Padoucahs  or  letans  (the  Comanches)  numbered 
thousands.  The  Osages  of  course  need  not  be 
counted.  The  Pawnees  thought  little  of  Osages — 
a  poor  and  miserable  people. 

The  Spanish  had  left  a  very  broad,  plain  trail. 
The  Americans  were  following  it,  although  it  was  an 
old  trail  and  the  Spanish  chief  had  been  gone  several 
weeks.  It  stretched  straight  southward,  toward  the 
Kansas  country,  and  the  Padoucah  and  the  Spanish 
country,  beyond.  If  the  young  chief  Pike  followed 
far  enough,  in  that  direction,  he  would  have  need 

of  all  his  medicine  to  get  out  again.    But  perhaps 

82 


ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  SPANIARDS 

he  would  turn  west,  in  time,  and  aim  for  the  unknown 
mountains,  many  days'  journey — although  what  he 
expected  to  find  there,  nobody  might  say. 

It  was  the  home  of  the  Utahs,  who  warred  upon 
plains  people  and  were  friendly  to  only  the  Spanish. 

He  was  a  bold  man,  this  young  Chief  Pike. 

The  march  southward  continued  all  day,  pur- 
suing the  trail,  until  when  the  sun  was  getting  low 
and  the  shadows  long  a  place  was  reached  where  the 
Spanish  had  camped. 

Chief  Pike  examined  the  signs.  The  Spanish  of 
Chief  Melgares  had  camped  in  a  circle.  There  were 
fifty-nine  burnt  spots,  from  campfires.  Allowing  six 
warriors  to  each  fire,  that  counted  up  over  three 
hundred  and  fifty.  The  grasses  had  been  eaten  off 
by  the  horses. 

Chief  Pike  led  his  eighteen  warriors  on  a  little 
distance,  and  ordered  camp  for  the  night  beside  a 
fork  of  the  river  of  the  Kansas.  Scar  Head  was 
well  treated ;  the  American  medicine  man  or  "  doc- 
tor "  eyed  him  a  great  deal,  but  did  him  no  harm ; 
the  warrior  Sparks  grinned  at  him,  and  beckoned 
to  him,  but  he  did  not  go.  It  was  a  cheerful  camp, 
with  the  men  singing  and  joking  in  their  strange 
language. 

He  ate  at  the  fire  of  the  two  chiefs  and  the  medi- 
cine-man. They  and  Baroney  the  interpreter  talked 

83 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

together.  Soon  after  dark  everybody  went  to  bed, 
except  the  guards,  and  except  Chief  Pike,  who  sat 
up,  in  his  lodge,  making  black  marks  on  white  leaves, 
by  the  fire  of  a  sputtering  white  stick ! 

Scar  Head  rolled  in  his  buffalo  robe,  at  one  side 
of  the  lodge;  the  couch  for  the  medicine-man  (who 
was  already  on  it)  and  for  the  chief,  was  at  the 
other  side.  He  stayed  awake  as  long  as  he  could, 
watching  lest  the  medicine-man  should  try  to  feel 
of  the  spot  on  his  head,  again ;  but  he  was  tired,  and 
before  the  chief  had  finished  making  marks,  he  fell 
asleep. 


THE  CHASE  OF  THE  BIG  ELK 

BANG! 

One  of  the  American  guards,  stationed  on  a  little 
rise,  had  fired  his  gun,  as  an  alarm  signal. 

It  was  noon,  of  the  second  day,  and  Chief  Pike 
had  halted  his  men  to  eat,  and  graze  the  horses.  At 
the  signal,  everybody  looked. 

"  Injuns!  "  cried  the  Americans,  while  the  guard 
pointed  and  called. 

Scar  Head  likewise  looked. 

"  Pawnee,"  he  said.  He  knew  them  instantly, 
although  they  were  still  far  off. 

Chief  Pike  and  the  young  sub-chief  shouted 
orders.  The  soldiers  seized  their  guns  and  formed 
to  protect  the  horses;  the  guards  came  running  in. 
Scar  Head  strung  his  bow  and  plucked  a  good  arrow 
from  his  quiver.  The  "  doctor  "  or  medicine-man, 
standing  with  gun  in  hand,  smiled  and  asked  him  a 
question,  in  French. 

"  What  are  you  doing  ?    Making  ready  to  fight  ?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  Good,"  praised  the  medicine-man.  "  You  will 
fight  for  the  Americans?  " 

85 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

"  I  am  American,"  asserted  Scar  Head.  "  Ameri- 
can. No  Pawnee." 

The  medicine-man  laughed,  but  he  seemed 
pleased. 

There  were  many  of  the  Pawnees — fully  three 
hundred.  They  approached  swiftly,  across  the  roll- 
ing prairie,  from  the  north.  They  were  horseback, 
but  they  acted  like  a  war  party — all  were  warriors, 
with  guns  and  bows  and  lances.  What  did  they 
want?  Even  Scar  Head  could  not  guess.  Had 
Charakterik  decided  to  let  the  Americans  be  attacked  ? 
That  was  foolish.  The  Americans  were  ready,  and 
would  fight  hard. 

Or,  perhaps  Iskatappe  and  Skidi  and  other  hot- 
hearts  had  planned  this  without  permission,  and 
were  determined  to  see  what  they  might  do. 

The  Americans  stood  in  a  half  circle,  facing 
the  Pawnees,  their  horses  tied  short,  behind  them. 
Chief  Pike  stood  in  front  of  the  center,  his  sword 
in  his  hand.  His  sub-chief  was  at  one  end  and 
the  medicine-man  at  the  other  end.  Scar  Head  fitted 
his  arrow  upon  his  bow,  twitched  his  quiver  around 
so  that  he  might  reach  it  more  easily,  and  ran  closer 
to  the  medicine-man's  end,  where  he  could  shoot 
better.  The  soldier  Sparks  was  here,  too. 

Iskatappe  led  the  Pawnees.  They  were  nearing 
fast.  Yes,  Skidi  was  among  them.  Scar  Head  de- 

86 


THE  CHASE  OF  THE  BIG  ELK 

cided  to  loose  his  arrows  upon  Skidi,  who  had  called 
him  a  liar  and  who  was  the  mischief-maker.  Now 
Chief  Pike  uttered  a  sharp  command,  and  the  gun- 
locks  of  the  few  Americans  all  clicked;  he  uttered 
another  command,  and  the  guns  of  the  few  Ameri- 
cans all  rose  to  a  level  line.  Scar  Head  lifted  his 
bow  and  bent  it,  pointing  his  arrow  upward,  his  eyes 
measuring  the  distance  to  Skidi. 

But  on  a  sudden  the  Pawnees  stopped  short,  so 
that  their  ponies'  forehoofs  ploughed  the  sod,  and 
Iskatappe  and  another  chief  rode  forward  more 
slowly,  with  the  peace  sign. 

Chief  Pike  barked  a  command,  so  that  the  Amer- 
icans' guns  were  lowered.  Baroney  went  out  and 
joined  him,  and  they  two  met  Iskatappe  and  the 
other  chief. 

After  all,  Iskatappe  only  gave  Chief  Pike  a  piece 
of  meat.  They  rode  in  together,  and  the  Pawnees 
came  on,  and  the  Americans  let  them. 

"  No  war,"  smiled  the  medicine-man,  over  his 
shoulder,  at  Scar  Head. 

"  Maybe,"  grunted  Scar  Head,  but  he  was  sus- 
picious. When  the  Pawnees  acted  this  way,  they 
were  of  two  minds.  The  Americans  would  do  well 
to  watch  out.  They  did  watch,  but  it  was  hard  to 
keep  so  many  Pawnees  at  a  distance.  They  edged 
about,  smiling  and  alert  for  chances, 

87 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

"Hello,  little  sneak,"  greeted  Skidi,  of  Scar 
Head. 

"Hello,  thief,"  Scar  Head  boldly  answered. 
"  You  are  the  sneak.  You  give  with  one  hand  and 
take  back  with  the  other. " 

"  You  talk  big,"  sneered  Skidi.  "  Once  you  were 
a  chief's  son ;  now  you  are  nothing.  When  I  catch 
you,  some  day,  you  will  be  less  than  nothing." 

"Why  don't  you  catch  me  now?"  Scar  Head 
retorted.  "  I  am  with  the  Americans.  I  am  not 
afraid  of  you." 

"  You  are  not  worth  the  trouble.  We  are  hunt- 
ing meat.  The  Padoucah  can  have  you  and  those 
Osages.  They  and  the  Spanish  will  eat  you  all,  for 
us,  and  save  us  the  bother.  If  we  did  not  believe 
that,  we  would  never  have  let  the  Americans  come 
even  this  far." 

It  appeared  to  be  true  that  the  Pawnees  were 
hunting,  and  not  bent  upon  war.  Iskatappe  had 
brought  Chief  Pike  a  present  of  bear  meat,  to  wipe 
out  the  memory  of  the  horse-theft,  he  said.  But  the 
Americans  stood  ready,  trying  to  see  what  the  Paw- 
nees really  were  up  to — and  Scar  Head  kept  his  eye 
upon  the  crafty  Skidi. 

Pretty  soon  Chief  Pike  and  Iskatappe  shook 
hands  again.  The  Pawnees  were  to  ride  one  way, 
the  Americans  another.  Scar  Head  was  just  in  time. 

88 


THE  CHASE  OF  THE  BIG  ELK 

As  the  Americans  started,  he  brushed  against  the 
medicine-man,  so  as  to  warn,  with  his  French  words : 

"  Knife.     No  knife." 

The  medicine-man  instantly  felt  of  the  knife 
scabbard  on  his  saddle.  It  was  empty,  as  Scar  Head 
well  knew,  for  he  had  seen  the  clever  Skidi  steal 
the  knife  out.  Now  the  "  doctor  "  exclaimed,  and 
spoke  quickly  to  Chief  Pike.  They  both  reined  aside, 
so  did  Baroney  the  interpreter — 

"  Come,"  beckoned  the  medicine-man,  to  Scar 
Head ;  and  while  the  column  went  on  with  the  second 
chief,  they  turned  back  to  the  Pawnees. 

"  We  have  come  for  a  knife  that  is  lost,"  an- 
nounced Chief  Pike,  to  Iskatappe,  with  Baroney  talk- 
ing for  him  in  bad  Pawnee. 

"  We  know  nothing  about  any  knife,"  asserted 
Rich  Man,  stiffly. 

"  A  knife  is  missing  from  this  man's  saddle," 
Chief  Pike  insisted.  "  I  ask  you  to  get  it  for  me." 

"  You  grow  angry  about  a  very  small  thing," 
Iskatappe  replied.  "What  is  one  knife  to  you? 
Besides,  you  say  it  is  lost.  Very  well;  then  you 
should  find  it.  We  know  nothing  about  it." 

Chief  Pike  flushed,  angry  indeed.  His  blue  eyes 
looked  hot. 

"  Whether  or  not  it  is  a  small  thing,  we  Ameri- 
cans are  not  men  who  can  be  robbed.  The  knife  may 

89 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

seem  of  little  value,  but  it  is  ours.    I  am  here  to  get 
it  from  you." 

"  That  is  strong  talk,"  Iskatappe  answered.    "I 
have  no  knife  of  yours.    Where  is  your  knife?  " 

"  Who  has  it?  "  the  medicine-man  asked,  in  quick 
low  voice,  of  Scar  Head. 

"  Skidi,"  whispered  Scar  Head. 

The  medicine-man  pushed  forward  to  Baroney, 
and  spoke  with  him. 

"  This  man  says  your  warrior  named  Skidi  has 
his  knife,"  said  Baroney,  to  Iskatappe. 

"  We  will  see,"  replied  Iskatappe.  He  called 
Skidi,  and  told  him  to  throw  back  his  robe;  and 
sure  enough,  there  was  the  knife. 

"  I  did  not  know  that  it  was  that  man's  knife," 
Skidi  defended.  "  I  found  it  on  the  trail.  Now  it  is 
mine.  If  I  give  it  up,  I  must  have  another  to  take 
its  place." 

"  Your  warrior  lies,"  Chief  Pike  flatly  retorted, 
to  Iskatappe.  "  He  stole  the  knife.  Otherwise,  how 
did  we  know  that  he  had  it?  " 

Matters  looked  bad.  The  Pawnees  were  sur- 
rounding thicker  and  thicker,  and  the  other  Ameri- 
cans had  gone  on.  But  Chief  Pike  gave  no  sign 
that  he  was  afraid;  neither  did  the  medicine-man. 
Only  Baroney  acted  uneasy,  and  Scar  Head's  heart 
beat  rapidly. 

9Q 


THE  CHASE  OF  THE  BIG  ELK 

"  What  the  American  chief  says,  sounds  true," 
remarked  Iskatappe,  while  Skidi  glared  and  his 
friends  jostled  and  murmured.  "  But  maybe  Skidi 
is  right,  too.  He  should  have  another  knife." 

"  We  are  not  here  to  trade  knives.  When  an 
honest  man  finds  what  belongs  to  another,  he  returns 
it,"  Chief  Pike  replied. 

"  Much  time  is  being  wasted  over  a  matter  of  no 
account,"  growled  Iskatappe.  "  Here  is  your  knife," 
and  he  plucked  it  from  Skidi's  waist.  "  I  am  not 
stingy,  so  I  give  him  one  to  take  its  place."  And 
so  he  did. 

Chief  Pike  passed  the  knife  to  the  medicine-man. 
The  medicine-man  was  wise.  He  immediately  passed 
it  back  to  Iskatappe. 

"  It  is  now  yours.  Keep  it.  By  this  you  see  that 
we  did  not  come  for  the  knife;  we  came  for  justice." 

"  You  show  us  that  your  hearts  are  good,  after 
all,"  Rich  Man  granted.  "  I  think  you  have  done 
well." 

The  faces  of  the  Pawnees  cleared,  even  Skidi 
seemed  satisfied,  and  after  shaking  hands  once  more 
Chief  Pike  led  out  for  the  column  and  left  the  Paw- 
nees to  go  their  way  also. 

The  Americans  under  the  second  chief  were  a 
long  way  ahead.  Chief  Pike  acted  as  if  in  no  hurry. 
He  and  the  medicine-man  cantered  easily  and  chatted 

91 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

and  laughed  like  brothers ;  Scar  Head  and  Baroney 
cantered  together,  behind  them. 

"  Our  scalps  were  loose,  back  there,"  uttered 
Baroney. 

"  Yes/'  said  Scar  Head.    "  I  smelled  blood." 

"  You  are  no  Pawnee.  They  would  scalp  you, 
too.  Were  you  afraid  ?  " 

"  No.    No  one  is  afraid,  with  Chief  Pike." 

Baroney  laughed.  He  was  a  small,  dark,  black- 
bearded  man  who  spoke  about  as  much  Pawnee  as 
Scar  Head  spoke  French,  but  was  good  at  the  sign 
language ;  so  by  using  all  three  means,  with  now  and 
then  a  word  of  Spanish,  he  got  along. 

They  had  ridden  about  a  mile,  and  were  slowly 
overtaking  the  American  column,  when  another  band 
of  figures  came  charging.  The  medicine-man  sighted 
them,  the  first,  for  he  pointed — and  they  indeed 
looked,  at  a  distance,  to  be  more  Indians,  issuing 
from  ambush  in  a  river  bottom  on  the  left  and 
launching  themselves  to  cut  off  the  Chief  Pike  squad. 

Scar  Head  himself  read  them  with  one  keen  stare. 

"Elk,"  he  grunted,  in  Pawnee,  and  stiffened 
with  the  hunt  feeling. 

Baroney  called,  excitedly;  but  Chief  Pike  had 
read,  too.  He  shouted,  turned  his  horse  and  shook 
his  reins  and  flourished  his  gun,  and  away  he  dashed, 
to  meet  the  elk.  In  a  flash  Scar  Head  clapped  his 

92 


THE  CHASE  OF  THE  BIG  ELK 

heels  against  his  pony's  ribs,  and  tore  after.  The 
medicine-man  and  Baroney  tore,  too,  on  a  course 
of  their  own. 

The  yellow  pony  was  a  fast  pony,  well  trained. 
He  had  been  stolen  from  the  Comanches,  whose 
horses  were  the  best.  Scar  Head  rode  light — a  boy 
in  only  a  buffalo  robe.  The  American  horses  all 
were  poor  horses,  even  those  traded  for  with  the 
Pawnees,  and  Chief  Pike,  in  his  clothes,  weighed 
twice  as  much,  on  the  saddle,  as  Scar  Head. 

The  yellow  pony  over-hauled  the  Chief  Pike 
horse — crept  up,  from  tail  to  stirrup,  from  stirrup 
to  neck,  from  neck  to  nose.  Scar  Head,  his  moc- 
casined  feet  thrust  into  thong  loops,  clung  close. 
Chief  Pike  glanced  aside  at  him,  with  blue  eyes  glow- 
ing, and  smiled. 

"  Good  meat,"  he  said,  in  French.  "  We  two 
hunt." 

"  Kill,"  answered  Scar  Head. 

"Can  you  kill?" 

"  Yes." 

"What  with?" 

"  This."    And  Scar  Head  shook  his  strung  bow. 

Chief  Pike  laughed. 

"  They  are  large;  you  are  small.  With  a  gun — 
yes.  With  a  bow — I  think  not." 

"  You  will  see,"  Scar  Head  promised.    His  heart 

93 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

was  filled  with  the  desire  to  prove  himself  to  Chief 
Pike.  But  he  had  never  killed  an  elk — nothing 
larger  than  a  badger;  he  only  knew  that  it  might 
be  done. 

They  raced.  The  elk  were  foolish  things,  and 
appeared  to  be  thinking  more  of  some  danger  behind 
than  the  danger  before.  No — now  Baroney  and 
the  medicine-man  had  frightened  them  afresh,  for 
they  had  swerved,  they  paralleled  the  trail,  and  were 
scouring  on  to  gain  the  open. 

Good  riding  might  head  them. 

The  yellow  pony  knew.  He  ran  like  a  deer,  him- 
self. Chief  Pike's  horse  lengthened  bravely. 

"Hi!  Hi!"  Scar  Head  urged. 

"  Hurrah!  "  cheered  the  chief. 

They  were  veering  in.  The  band  of  elk  were  led 
by  a  splendid  buck,  whose  horns  branched  like  a  tree. 
The  elk  chief  ran  with  his  nose  out  and  his  horns 
laid  upon  his  neck,  but  now  and  again  he  shook  his 
head,  and  his  horns  tossed. 

Baroney  and  the  medicine-man  were  trying  to 
close  in,  on  the  rear  flank — the  medicine-man  had 
shot.  Scar  Head  belabored  his  pony  harder.  The 
wind  whistled  in  his  ears,  his  white  robe  had  dropped 
about  his  thighs,  he  rode  with  his  legs  and  notched 
an  arrow  upon  his  bow-string.  His  eyes  were  upon 
the  elk  chief ,  and  he  almost  lost  sight  of  Chief  Pike, 

94 


THE  CHASE  OF  THE  BIG  ELK 

although  he  knew  that  Pike  was  thudding  close 
beside  him. 

The  reports  of  the  medicine-man  and  Baroney 
guns  sounded,  driving  the  elk  before  them.  The  elk 
chief  saw  the  two  enemies  cutting  him  off  before. 
He  recoiled  sharply,  to  turn,  but  the  herd  forced 
him  on;  they  all  bunched,  confused.  This  was  the 
chance,  and  in  charged  Scar  Head,  on  his  yellow 
pony. 

"  Le  grand  cerf  (The  large  stag)  !  "  Chief  Pike 
gasped. 

"  Oui  (yes)  !  "  answered  Scar  Head. 

The  herd  brbke.  On  bolted  the  stag,  tossing  his 
great  horns.  After  him  pelted  Scar  Head  and  Chief 
Pike.  It  was  another  chase.  But,  see !  The  Paw- 
nees were  coming,  from  before.  The  chase  was 
leading  straight  for  them,  they  had  seen,  and  fifty 
or  sixty  of  their  best  hunters  had  galloped  in  a  long 
line,  for  a  surround. 

The  stag  saw,  too.  Or  else  he  smelled.  He 
turned  at  right  angles,  to  escape  the  net.  A  minute 
or  two  more,  and  the  yellow  pony  was  at  his  strain- 
ing haunches,  and  Scar  Head  was  leaning  forward 
with  bow  bent  to  the  arrow's  head. 

"  Look  out !    Look  out !  "  Chief  Pike  shouted. 

With  a  mighty  leap  the  stag  sprang  aside, 
whirled,  and  charged  the  yellow  pony.  His  bristling 

95 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

horns  were  down,  his  eyes  shone  greenly.  Around 
whirled  the  yellow  pony,  also,  and  scrambled  for 
safety.  Scar  Head,  clinging  and  urging,  gazed  back- 
ward and  laughed  to  show  that  he  was  not  afraid. 
Chief  Pike,  his  pistol  held  high,  pursued,  to  the 
rescue. 

But  the  elk  chief  changed  heart.  The  yellow 
pony  nimbly  dodged,  and  he  went  on.  Scar  Head 
closed  in  on  him  once  more.  Chief  Pike  was  com- 
ing; the  arrow  should  be  sped  now  or  never. 

The  elk  chief  was  spattered  with  froth  from 
shoulder  to  haunch ;  his  great  horns,  polished  at  the 
tips  but  still  ragged  with  their  velvet,  lay  flat,  reach- 
ing to  his  back.  Scar  Head  forged  on  farther  and 
farther,  his  bow  arched  from  arrow  notch  to  arrow 
point ;  he  leaned,  aimed  quickly,  and  loosed.  It  was 
a  warrior's  bow,  and  the  recoil  jarred  his  whole 
arm,  but  the  arrow  had  sunk  to  its  feathers  in  the 
right  spot,  just  behind  the  elk's  fore  shoulder. 

"  Hi ! "  cheered  Scar  Head.  He  whipped  an- 
other arrow  from  his  quiver;  without  slackening 
speed  he  fitted  it  to  the  bow. 

The  elk  chief  had  given  a  tremendous  bound; 
for  a  moment  it  seemed  as  though  he  would  get 
away  yet.  On  thudded  the  yellow  pony,  in  the  rear 
at  the  other  side  on  thudded  Chief  Pike,  ready  to 
use  his  pistol. 

96 


!te 


WHANG!     IT  BURIED  ITSELF  ALMOST  OUT  OF  SIGHT  BEHIND  THE  ELK 
CHIEF'S  RIBS 


THE  CHASE  OF  THE  BIG  ELK 

Before,  the  Pawnees  were  yelling.  Scar  Head 
feared  that  he  was  going  to  lose  his  kill  to  them, 
or  to  Chief  Pike.  That  would  never  do.  He  kicked 
his  pony  fiercely.  Ha!  The  old  chief  was  failing, 
as  the  arrow  point  worked.  The  pony  drew  up  on 
him.  Now  another  arrow.  Whang!  It  buried  itself 
almost  out  of  sight  behind  the  elk  chief's  ribs. 

The  elk  chief  bounded  high,  screamed,  turned 
blindly,  and  with  one  more  bound  crashed  headlong 
to  the  ground.  The  yellow  pony  leaped  right  across 
him  as  he  struggled  to  rise.  But  he  rose  only  half 
way,  still  screaming  with  rage.  Then,  just  as  Chief 
Pike  arrived,  and  Scar  Head,  twisting  the  yellow 
pony,  leveled  a  third  arrow,  he  collapsed,  gushing 
blood  from  his  mouth,  and  quivered  and  died. 

Scar  Head  yelled  the  scalp  halloo.  He  had  killed 
the  elk  chief,  a  mighty  animal  indeed. 

Chief  Pike,  out  of  breath,  swung  his  hat  and 
cheered,  too.  He  got  off  his  horse,  and  walked 
around  the  elk,  examining  it.  He  examined  the 
arrow  wounds,  with  the  reddened  feather  tips  just 
showing. 
,  "  That  was  well  done/'  he  said. 

Scar  Head  sat  happy,  breathing  fast.  The  scar 
under  his  white  mark  throbbed  and  burned,  as  it 
always  did  when  he  worked  hard  or  played  hard,  but 

7  97 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

he  was  happy.  His  heart  glowed  at  the  praise  by 
Chief  Pike.  He  felt  like  a  man. 

"  Yours,"  he  panted.    "  I  kill.    You  keep/1 

"  It  is  much  meat,"  replied  Chief  Pike. 

Baroney  and  the  medicine-man  were  chasing 
hither-thither.  The  Pawnees  were  killing.  Chief 
Pike  galloped  away  to  see.  But  he  would  see  no 
arrows  buried  deeper  than  these. 

After  the  hunt  was  over,  the  Pawnees  cut  up 
their  animals,  and  the  Pike  party  cut  up  the  big  elk. 
With  Scar  Head  riding  proudly,  they  four  caught 
the  column  under  the  second  chief.  The  camp 
feasted,  this  night,  upon  a  spot  where  the  Spanish 
also  had  camped.  There  was  only  one  alarm  call, 
from  the  guard,  on  account  of  two  Pawnees  who 
came  in  by  mistake.  They  had  not  eaten  for  three 
days  and  thought  that  this  was  a  camp  of  their  own 
people. 

Chief  Pike  sent  them  out  again,  with  food  for 
a  sick  comrade.  He  was  kind  as  well  as  brave. 


VI 

LIEUTENANT  WILKINSON  SAYS  GOOD-BV 

"  CHIEF  PIKE  asks  you  to  go  back  with  one  man 
and  find  John  Sparks." 

These  were  the  words  of  Baroney,  to  Scar  Head, 
who  was  just  finishing  breakfast  so  as  to  be  ready 
to  march. 

A  number  of  days  had  passed  since  the  elk  hunt, 
and  several  things  had  happened.  Although  the 
Americans  were  brave,  the  Great  Spirit  seemed  to 
be  angry  with  them  for  marching  through  the  coun- 
try. He  gave  them  hungry  camps,  without  wood 
and  water.  He  sent  rain  on  them,  and  made  them 
sick.  Chief  Pretty  Bird  and  another  Osage  man 
had  left.  They  said  that  they  wanted  better  hunting 
— but  it  was  plain  that  they  were  afraid.  And  on 
the  same  day  the  Spanish  trail  had  been  blotted  out 
by  buffalo  hoofs,  and  the  Americans  had  lost  it. 

By  the  talk,  this  was  bad.  According  to  what 
Scar  Head  understood,  Chief  Pike  depended  upon 
the  Spanish  trail  to  guide  him  by  the  best  road 
into  the  south  and  to  the  Comanches.  The  Spanish 
knew  this  country  better  than  the  Americans  did. 

99 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

The  rain  kept  falling,  and  the  men  straggled. 
Yesterday  afternoon  the  warrior  Sparks  had  dropped 
behind.  He  had  pains  in  his  joints,  which  the  medi- 
cine-man had  not  been  able  to  cure :  "  rheumatism." 
He  could  not  ride  a  horse  and  he  could  scarcely 
walk,  using  his  gun  as  a  crutch.  Last  night  he  had 
not  come  into  camp.  The  Spanish  trail  was  lost, 
again;  and  Sparks  was  lost,  too. 

Scar  Head  was  glad  to  go  back  and  look  for  him. 
He  Hked  Sparks.  He  liked  all  the  men  and  was 
getting  to  know  them  by  their  npnes :  queer  names. 
Each  man  had  two — one  for  each  other  and  one 
for  the  chiefs.  There  was  "  Jake  "  and  "  Carter  " ; 
the  same  man.  And  "  Jerry  "  and  "  Jackson  " ;  and 
"Tom"  and  "Dougherty";  and  "John"  and 
"Brown";  and  "Hugh"  and  "Menaugh";  and 
"  Bill  "  and  "  Meek  " ;  and  "  Joe  "  and  "  Ballenger  "  ; 
and  the  others.  The  last  two  were  head  warriors, 
called  "  sergeant."  The  medicine-man's  names  were 
"John"  and  "Doctor  Robinson."  The  second 
chief's  names  were  "  the  left'nant "  and  "  Lieuten- 
ant Wilkinson,"  Chief  Pike  was  "  the  cap'n  "  and 
"Lieutenant  Pike." 

The  warriors  spoke  only  American,  but  they 
knew  Indian  ways.  The  most  of  them,  Baroney  said, 
had  been  on  a  long  journey  before  with  Lieutenant 

100 


LIEUTENANT  WILKINSON:  SAYS 

Pike,  far  into  the  north  up  a  great  river,  into  the 
country  of  the  Sioux. 

The  medicine-man,  Doctor  Robinson,  was  popu- 
lar, but  he  was  not  a  chief.  The  men  did  not  seem 
to  fear  him.  He  rode  well  and  shot  well.  Lieutenant 
Pike  and  he  rode  and  hunted  together,  while  the 
second  chief,  Lieutenant  Wilkinson,  stayed  with  the 
men.  Scar  Head  also  had  grown  not  to  fear  the 
medicine-man,  who  frequently  asked  him  about  his 
white  spot  and  where  he  had  come  from,  to  the 
Utahs  and  Pawnees,  and  tried  to  teach  him  American 
words. 

Some  of  the  American  words  were  hard  and  some 
easy.  On  some  days  they  were  harder  than  on  other 
days;  and  again  Scar  Head  suddenly  spoke  words 
that  he  didn't  know  at  all — they  arrived  to  him  of 
themselves.  That  was  odd.  He  was  getting  to  be 
an  American;  he  felt  as  though  he  had  been  an 
American  in  his  heart  all  the  time,  but  that  his  heart 
had  been  shut  up.  The  times  when  his  spot  throbbed 
and  burned  were  the  times  when  he  knew  the  fewest 
words. 

The  men  had  given  him  a  new  name.  His  Pawnee 
name  was  not  good  enough  for  them.  The  new  name 
was  "  Stub."  John  Sparks  had  told  him  of  it,  first, 
by  saying  it. 

"  Hello,  Stub?    How  goes  it,  Stub?  " 

101 


•:lk)ST  \VITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

And  the  other  men  laughed  and  repeated : 

"  Here,  Stub." 

"Hello,  Stub!" 

"  You're  the  boy,  Stub." 

"  What  is  '  Stub '  ?  "  he  asked,  of  the  medicine- 
man, Doctor  Robinson. 

"  It  is  '  short/  '  cut  off/  coupe,"  carefully  ex- 
plained the  medicine-man.  "  They  like  you.  It  is  a 
good  name,  because  you  are  small." 

"American?" 

"  Yes." 

"  Sure,  an*  we  mane  no  harm,  doctor,  sir,"  called 
"Tom,"  whose  other  name  was  Dougherty.  "If 
sawed-off  he  is,  a  rale  little  man  he  is,  too." 

And  while  Scar  Head  (whose  other  name  was 
now  "  Stub,"  in  American  language)  did  not  under- 
stand all  those  words,  he  knew  that  they  were  kindly 
spoken.  So  his  name  pleased  him. 

John  Brown  was  the  man  who  rode  with  him 
to  look  for  Sparks.  They  took  the  back  trail  and 
rode  for  a  long  time.  Everything  was  wet  from  the 
rains.  Sparks  must  have  spent  a  miserable  night, 
alone  on  the  prairie,  without  food  or  fire.  Finally 
they  saw  him,  far  ahead,  hobbling  slowly,  trying  to 
catch  up  with  the  march. 

He  grinned  when  they  met  him,  and  shouted 
cheerfully,  although  he  made  faces. 

102 


LIEUTENANT  WILKINSON  SAYS  GOOD-BY 

"  Mornin'  to  ye,  boys.    'Rah  for  Stub! " 

"H'lo,John.  No  walk;  ride.  My  pony."  And 
Stub  sprang  off. 

"  Can  you  ride,  John?  "  asked  John  Brown. 

"  Sure,  I'll  try.  At  this  rate  I  dunno  whether 
I'm  goin'  or  comin'.  You'll  all  be  to  the  mountains 
an'  back  ag*in  before  I  ever  ketch  up.  Hey,  Stub?  " 

But  Stub  might  only  smile. 

With  many  grunts  and  awkward  movements 
John  Sparks  climbed  aboard  the  yellow  pony.  It 
was  near  noon  when  they  brought  him  into  the  camp. 

Lieutenant  Pike  and  Doctor  Robinson  had  been 
hunting  for  the  Spanish  trail,  again,  but  had  not 
found  it.  There  wa's  talk  of  a  large  river,  the  Arkan- 
saw,  somewhere  southward  yet.  The  Americans 
were  anxious  to  reach  the  river,  which  would  guide 
them ;  but  they  had  lost  the  trail  to  it. 

After  eating,  they  made  another  march.  When 
the  sun  was  low,  Lieutenant  Pike  pointed  to  some 
trees  a  long  way  ahead  and  told  Lieutenant  Wilkin- 
son to  march  the  men  to  that  place.  He  beckoned 
to  Stub. 

"  Come  with  me?  "  he  asked. 

Stub  nodded.  He  and  Lieutenant  Pike  and  Doc- 
tor the  medicine-man  went  off  by  themselvesr  scout- 
ing up  a  creek.  Lieutenant  Pike  was  still  looking 
for  the  Spanish  trail. 

103 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

They  all  looked  and  looked,  but  did  not  cross 
it.  The  lieutenant  sighted  some  buffalo ;  he  and  the 
medicine-man  gave  chase,  and  before  Stub  reached 
them  they  had  killed  two.  That  was  good.  They 
took  the  tongues,  and  left  a  coat  on  the  carcasses,  to 
keep  the  wolves  away;  but  when  the  three  rode 
hard,  to  get  to  camp  before  dark,  there  was  no  camp. 
The  Lieutenant  Wilkinson  men  had  not  gone  to  the 
trees.  Now  everybody  was  lost ! 

After  searching  about  and  speaking  angrily, 
Lieutenant  Pike  ordered  camp.  It  was  lucky  that 
they  had  taken  the  buffalo  tongues,  because  now 
they  might  make  a  fire  and  cook  the  tongues. 

What  had  become  of  the  Lieutenant  Wilkinson 
men  seemed  very  queer.  Early  in  the  morning 
Lieutenant  Pike  led  up  the  creek,  from  the  trees,  and 
did  not  find  them.  The  three  arrived  at  the  spot 
where  the  two  buffalo  carcasses  were  lying.  The 
wolves  were  eating  the  carcasses,  in  spite  of  the 
coat,  but  there  were  marrow  bones  left.  Next,  the 
lieutenant  led  down  the  creek.  Not  even  the  smoke 
of  any  campfires  might  be  seen,  and  there  were  no 
pony  tracks  or  footprints. 

Stub  used  all  his  eyes,  but  discovered  nothing. 
At  night  the  lieutenant  and  the  doctor  were  much 
worried. 

"  Injuns,  mebbe?  "  Stub  asked. 
104 


LIEUTENANT  WILKINSON  SAYS  GOOD-BY 

Lieutenant  Pike  nodded  gravely. 

"  I  fear  so.    We  will  hunt  more  to-morrow. " 

That  night  it  rained,  and  in  the  morning  was  still 
raining,  cold.  But  they  had  had  plenty  to  eat.  This 
day  they  rode  and  rode,  up  the  creek  again,  in  the 
rain. 

"  It  is  bad,"  said  the  doctor.  "  A  long  way  from 
home.  Only  four  shots  left.  No  trail,  no  men, 
nada  (nothing).  Indian  country.  We  look  one 
more  day;  then  we  find  the  river  Arkansaw." 

"  Go  to  *  Nited  States?  "  Stub  queried. 

"  Cannot  tell.  The  Great  Father  sent  us  out. 
We  are  men ;  we  hate  to  go  back." 

"  Mebbe  they  there,  on  Arkansaw.    Injuns  chase 


'em." 


"  Maybe.  But  it  is  bad.  Maybe  Injuns  chase  us, 
next." 

"  We  fight,"  declared  Stub. 

And  the  doctor  laughed. 

"  You're  all  right.    We'll  do  our  best,  eh?  " 

Stub  had  ten  arrows;  the  lieutenant  and  the 
medicine-man  each  had  four  loads  for  their  guns. 
That  was  not  much,  in  a  fight. 

Early  in  the  morning  they  again  rode,  searching 
up  the  creek,  with  their  eyes  scanning  before  and 

behind  and  right  and  left.    When  the  sun  was  half- 

105 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

way  to  noon,  they  saw  two  horsemen,  coming  from 
the  south.    Indians  ?    No !    White  men — soldiers ! 

Lieutenant  Pike  cried  gladly,  and  fired  his  gun, 
in  signal.  His  face  had  been  dark  and  stern;  now 
it  lighted  up,  and  they  all  galloped  for  the  two  men. 
Lieutenant  Wilkinson  was  only  three  miles  south, 
on  the  Arkansaw. 

"What!  The  Arkansaw?"  Lieutenant  Pike 
repeated. 

"  Yes,  sir.    It  is  right  close/' 

"  Have  you  found  the  Spanish  trail?  " 

"  No,  sir.    But  we  found  the  river." 

The  two  soldiers  guided.  When  they  drew  near 
where  the  river  was,  Lieutenant  Wilkinson  galloped 
out.  By  the  way*  in  which  he  shook  hands  with  his 
chief  and  with  the  doctor,  he,  too,  had  been  worried. 

"  Sure,  we  thought  you  were  lost  or  scalped," 
said  John  Sparks,  to  Stub,  in  camp  . 

"  No  lost;  you  lost,"  answered  Stub. 

"  Well,  depends  on  how  you  look  at  it,"  agreed 
John  Sparks,  scratching  his  red  hair. 

The  river  was  a  wide  river,  flowing  between  cot- 
tonwood  trees.  The  country  was  flat,  and  the  trees 
had  hidden  the  size  of  the  river.  The  men  began  to 
look  for  trees  to  make  boats  of.  Did  this  mean 
that  Chief  Pike  was  going  to  travel  on  by  boat? 
Baroney  explained. 

106 


LIEUTENANT  WILKINSON  SAYS  GOOD-BY 

"  Lieutenant  Wilkinson  travels  down  river  by 
boat.  The  captain  takes  men  and  marches  to  the 
Comanches." 

"  Lieutenant  Wilkinson,  how  far?  "  Stub  asked. 

"  Very  far,  to  the  American  forts  at  the  mouth 
of  the  river,  and  to  report  to  the  American  father." 

"  Captain  Pike,  how  far?  " 

Baroney  shrugged  his  shoulders. 

"Who  knows?" 

Stub  made  up  his  mind  what  he  was  going  to  do. 

Lieutenant  Pike  moved  the  camp  to  the  other 
side  of  the  river,  where  the  best  boat-trees  grew. 
The  river  was  rising  fast,  from  the  rains,  and  every- 
body had  to  swim  and  arrived  very  wet.  Rain  fell 
almost  all  the  time,  but  it  was  a  good  camp,  with 
plenty  of  wood  and  meat. 

While  the  men  under  Lieutenant  Wilkinson  cut 
down  trees  Chief  Pike  and  the  doctor  medicine-man 
scouted  up  and  down  the  river,  hunting  meat  and  the 
Spanish  trail.  There 'were  buffalo  and  antelope,  but 
there  was  no  Spanish  trail. 

Lieutenant  Pike  grew  curious  about  the  wish- 
ton-wish,  or  prairie  dogs.  He  found  a  large  town 
of  them,  where  the  rattle-snakes  and  the  tortoise 
lived,  too.  He  and  the  doctor  shot  them,  to  eat,  and 
they  were  good — as  Stub  well  knew.  It  took  true 

107 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

shooting,  because  unless  a  wish-ton-wish  is  killed 
dead,  he  crawls  into  his  hole. 

The  wish-ton-wish  is  among  the  smartest  of  ani- 
mals. He  digs  his  hole  cunningly.  The  lieutenant 
and  the  doctor  tried  to  fill  one  hole  with  water,  and 
get  the  wish-ton-wish  that  way.  Stub  said,  "  No 
use  " — he  and  the  Pawnee  boys  had  tried  it  often. 
And  the  men  found  out  that  this  was  true,  for  they 
spent  a  long  time  and  poured  in  one  hundred  and 
forty  kettles  of  water,  and  it  all  disappeared  but  no 
wish-ton-wish  came  out. 

Still,  the  towns  were  interesting  places,  where 
the  dogs  sat  up  straight  with  their  hands  across  their 
stomachs,  and  held  councils,  like  people,  and  whistled 
"  Wish-ton-wish  (Look  out)  !  "  whenever  an  enemy 
was  sighted. 

A  great  deal  of  buffalo-meat  was  dried,  for  Lieu- 
tenant Wilkinson  to  take.  Making  the  boats  required 
several  days.  The  trees  were  too  small  and  soft. 
When  one  boat  had  at  last  been  hollowed  the  men 
started  to  build  another  out  of  buffalo  and  elk  hides, 
stretched  over  a  frame. 

On  the  night  before  Lieutenant  Wilkinson  was  to 
leave,  Chief  Pike  the  captain  said  to  Stub : 

"  Come  here.    Listen." 

"What?" 

10* 


LIEUTENANT  WILKINSON  SAYS  GOOD-BY 
"  To-morrow  you  go  with  Lieutenant  Wilkin- 


son." 


"  No/'  answered  Stub.  He  had  been  afraid  of 
that. 

"  Yes.  You  go  with  him,  to  the  United  States. 
That  is  best" 

"  No."    And  Stub  shook  his  head 

"Why  not?' 
.     "No  go.    Stay  with  you." 

"Don't  you  want  to  be  an  American,  and  see 
the  towns  of  the  Great  Father?  " 

"  Be  an  American  here,"  answered  Stub. 

"  We  do  not  stay  here.  We  go  on,  a  long  way, 
uo  the  river,  to  the  mountains." 

"  Yes,"  said  Stub. 

"  You  will  be  cold." 

"Don't  care." 

"  You  will  be  hungry." 

"  Don't  care." 

"  We  may  all  die." 

"  Don't  care." 

"The  Osage  were  afraid.  The  Pawnee  were 
afraid.  You  are  not  afraid  ?  " 

"No.  No  Osage,  no  Pawnee;  American. 
March,  hunt,  fight,  stay  with  you,"  Stub  appealed, 
eagerly. 

109 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE    . 

The  doctor  medicine-man  laughed,  and  clapped 
him  on  the  shoulder. 

"  Good.    Let  him  come,  lieutenant." 

"  He  may  come,"  replied  the  lieutenant.  And 
Stub's  heart  beat  gladly. 

Baroney  and  John  Sparks  and  Tom  Dougherty 
and  John  Brown  and  others  of  his  friends  were 
coming,  too.  Had  he  been  sent  away  with  Lieu- 
tenant Wilkinson,  in  the  boat,  for  the  United  States, 
he  would  have  run  off  at  his  first  chance  and  fol- 
lowed the  Pike  trail. 

Right  after  breakfast  in  the  morning  camp  was 
broken.  It  had  been  a  very  cold  night,  with  snow, 
and  ice  floated  thickly  down  the  swollen  river.  But 
by  help  of  the  Wilkinson  boats  Lieutenant  Pike 
moved  his  men  and  baggage  across  the  river  again, 
to  the  north  side  which  everybody  said  was  the 
American  side.  The  men  worked  hard,  to  load 
the  boats  and  swim  the  horses,  in  the  slush  and  ice. 
Then  Lieutenant  Wilkinson  made  ready  to  start. 

He  took  with  him,  in  his  two  boats,  one  of  the 
head  soldiers,  Sergeant  Joe  Ballenger;  the  soldiers 
John  Boley,  Sam  Bradley,  Sol  Huddleston,  and  John 
Wilson;  the  Osage  man  and  woman  who  had  come 
this  far,  and  corn  and  meat  for  twenty-one  days. 

Head  soldier  Sergeant  Bill  Meek  marched  the 
Pike  men  up-river,  but  Stub  stayed  with  Lieutenant 

no 


LIEUTENANT  WILKINSON  SAYS  GOOD-BY 

Pike,  the  doctor,  and  Baroney,  to  see  the  Wilkinson 
men  leave.  He  had  no  fear  of  being  put  aboard,  now, 
for  Chief  Pike  always  spoke  the  truth. 

Lieutenant  Wilkinson  shook  hands  all  'round, 
stepped  into  the  boat,  made  of  four  buffalo  hides  and 
two  elk  hides,  and  with  his  crew  pushed  off,  after 
the  other  boat.  The  floating  ice  did  not  matter. 

Lieutenant  Pike  watched  them  out  of  sight,  in  a 
bend.  Then  he  turned  his  horse  toward  the  west. 

"  Come/'  he  said. 

He  and  Doctor  Robinson  led ;  Baroney  and  Stub 
followed. 

"  Now  to  the  mountains,"  cheered  Baroney. 
"Huzzah!" 

"  Huzzah !"  Stub  echoed. 

The  mountains  were  far,  through  Comanche 
country,  maybe  through  Spanish  country,  perhaps 
into  Utah  country;  and  after  that,  what?  Nobody 
had  said.  Winter  was  here,  as  if  the  Great  Spirit 
were  still  angry.  The  men  had  shivered,  this  morn- 
ing, in  their  thin  clothes ;  but  nobody  had  seemed  to 
care.  Young  Chief  Wilkinson,  with  a  few  men,  was 
going  one  way,  on  an  unknown  trail;  young  Chief 
Pike,  with  the  rest  of  the  men,  was  going  the  other 
way,  on  another  unknown  trail.  So,  huzzah !  To  be 
an  American  one  must  be  brave. 


VII 

"  THE  MOUNTAINS  !    THE  MOUNTAINS  !  " 

THE  Spanish  trail  again!  They  struck  it  to- 
ward evening  of  the  day  after  Lieutenant  Wilkinson 
had  left — and  they  struck  it  just  in  time,  too.  Snow 
was  falling  once  more,  and  dusk  was  at  hand. 

The  trail  came  in  from  the  north,  and  crossed  the 
river.  Lieutenant  Pike  ordered  camp  made.  Then 
he  and  the  doctor  forded  the  river,  through  the  float- 
ing ice,  to  see  where  the  trail  went  on  the  other  side. 

They  returned  in  the  dark.  They  had  lost  the 
trail,  among  the  buffalo  tracks,  but  were  going  to  try 
again  in  the  morning. 

"  We'll  have  to  take  Stub,  and  use  his  eyes,  too," 
said  the  doctor. 

This  was  another  cold  night.  The  snow  had  quit, 
after  falling  two  inches  deep.  The  horses  groaned, 
where  they  were  picketed  to  graze;  before  rolling 
themselves  in  their  blankets  and  buffalo  robes,  on  the 
ground,  the  men  huddled  about  their  fires.  There 
were  now  thirteen  soldiers,  and  Chief  Pike,  the  doc- 
tor, Baroney  and  Stub. 

"  Heap  winter,  b'  gorry ;  eh?  "  spoke  Pat  Smith, 
to  Stub,  and  holding  his  hands  to  the  blaze. 

112 


"THE  MOUNTAINS!    THE  MOUNTAINS!" 

Stub  gravely  nodded. 

"  Winter  come  soon/'  he  answered. 

"  An*  aren't  ye  cold,  boy  ?  "  queried  John  Sparks. 
"  In  only  your  skin  an'  a  buff'lo  robe?  " 

"  No  cold,"  Stub  asserted.  That  was  all  the 
Pawnees  wore.  He  was  used  to  it. 

The  day  dawned  clear.  After  eating,  Sergeant 
Meek  marched  the  men  up  along  the  river.  With 
Lieutenant  Pike  and  the  doctor,  Stub  crossed  to 
help  find  the  Spanish  trail.  They  had  to  break  a 
way  through  the  ice.  The  ice  cut  the  horses'  legs,  the 
stinging  water  splashed  high,  soaking  moccasins  and 
drenching  the  lieutenant  and  the  doctor  above  the 
knees.  The  lieutenant  wore  thin  blue  cotton  leg- 
gins — a  sort  of  trousers  called  overalls;  now  these 
clung  to  him  tightly. 

Stub  rather  preferred  his  own  skin,  for  it  shed 
water. 

The  Spanish  had  camped  over  here.  There  were 
lots  of  horse  sign  showing  through  the  snow,  in  a 
space  of  more  than  a  mile.  The  Spanish  seemed  to 
have  grown  in  numbers.  It  was  an  old  camp,  and 
the  trail  out  of  it  had  been  flattened  by  buffalo  tracks, 
and  by  the  snows  and  rains.  So  they  three — Lieu- 
tenant Pike,  the  doctor,  and  Stub — made  circles,  as 
they  rode  up  river,  to  cut  the  trail  farther  on. 

They  did  not  find  it  until  noon.    But  they  found 

8  113 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

something  else:  Indian  signs  which  were  not  older 
than  three  days.  A  party  of  warriors  were  ahead. 
Stub  picked  up  a  worn  moccasin:  "  Pawnee — Grand 
Pawnee,"  he  announced,  when  he  handed  it  to  the 
lieutenant.  "  War  party.  All  on  foot.  Mebbe  so 
many."  And  he  opened  and  shut  his  fingers  five 
times. 

The  lieutenant  and  the  doctor  examined  the 
moccasin.  After  that  they  rode  more  rapidly,  as  if 
anxious  to  get  to  their  soldiers. 

The  soldiers  also  had  crossed  the  river,  on 
account  of  bad  travel,  and  were  camped  on  this,  the 
south  side.  In  the  morning  they  all  marched  by  the 
Spanish  trail,  along  the  river,  into  the  west,  over  a 
country  covered  with  salt.  There  were  more  Indian 
signs.  It  looked  as  though  twenty  warriors  had  been 
marching  in  the  same  direction  only  a  short  time 
before;  and  fresh  horse  tracks  pointed  down  river. 

Whether  the  Indians  were  the  same  Pawnees  or 
not,  was  hard  to  tell.  But  the  horse  tracks  looked  to 
be  wild-horse  tracks. 

"  Sure,  wouldn't  it  be  fun  to  ketch  a  few  o'  them 
wild  hosses,  Stub,  lad?"  proposed  John  Sparks,  in 
camp.  "  We  need  'em.  Would  ye  know  how  ?  " 

"  Chase  'em;  with  rope.  Chase  'em  all  day,  make 
tired,  mebbe  no  ketch  'em,"  Stub  answered. 

"  Or  if  ye  shoot  one  jest  right,  through  the  nape 
114 


"THE  MOUNTAINS!    THE  MOUNTAINS!" 

o'  the  neck  an'  graze  the  nerve  there,  ye' 11  down  him 
like  as  if  lightning  struck  him  an*  he  won't  be  hurt," 
asserted  Hugh  Menaugh. 

"Yes,  but  it  takes  mighty  fine  shootin',"  said 
soldier  Bill  Gordon.  "  You're  like  to  kill  him,  or 
miss  him  complete." 

The  wild  horses  were  sighted  the  next  evening, 
from  camp  on  an  island  where  there  was  wood  and 
shelter.  The  lieutenant  and  the  doctor  and  Baroney 
had  come  in  with  two  antelope  that  they  had  killed 
among  their  own  horses,  while  they  themselves  were 
lying  on  the  ground  and  resting.  They  might  have 
killed  more,  but  they  did  not  need  the  meat.  Now 
while  spying  on  the  country  around,  through  his 
long  glass,  the  lieutenant  saw  a  bunch  of  moving 
figures  out  there  on  the  prairie,  north  of  the  river. 

Indians?  No — wild  horses,  more  than  one  hun- 
dred! Good!  Out  he  went,  and  the  doctor,  and 
Baroney,  and  Stub  followed,  to  get  a  nearer  view. 

They  were  of  many  colors,  those  wild  horses — 
blacks  and  browns  and  greys  and  spotted.  They 
waited  with  heads  high,  as  curious  as  if  they  had 
never  seen  men  before.  Then  they  came  charging, 
in  a  broad  front,  and  their  hoofs  drummed  like 
thunder.  Only  a  short  way  off  they  stopped,  to 
start  and  snort. 

115 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

"  Ma  foi,  quelle  beaute  (My  gracious,  how  beau- 
tiful) ! "  cried  Baroney. 

"  Try  to  crease  that  black,  lieutenant/'  the  doc- 
tor proposed. 

The  lieutenant  rested  his  gun  upon  his  empty  sad- 
dle, took  long  aim,  and  fired.  But  he  did  not  stun 
the  black — he  missed  him  entirely — he  had  not  dared 
to  draw  fine  enough. 

At  that,  around  the  wild  horses  wheeled,  as  if  by 
command,  and  pelted  off,  to  halt  and  gaze  again. 
\  .  "  To-morrow  we'll  see  if  we  can  run  some  down," 
said  the  lieutenant.    "  Shall  we,  Stub  ?  " 

"  Pawnee  sometimes  run  all  day.  Mebbe  ketch 
one,  mebbe  not.  Too  swift,  have  too  much  wind." 

"  Well,  we  can  try,"  laughed  the  doctor. 

The  camp  was  excited,  to-night,  with  the  thought 
of  catching  wild  horses.  The  men  busied  themselves 
tying  nooses  in  their  picket  ropes. 

"  But  we  haven't  a  critter  that  could  ketch  a 
badger,"  John  Sparks  complained;  "  unless  it  be  the 
doctor's  black  an'  that  yaller  pony  o'  Stub's." 

Stub  doubted  very  much  whether  his  yellow  pony 
would  amount  to  anything,  in  racing  wild  horses. 
The  Pawnees  always  used  two  or  three  horses,  each, 
so  as  to  tire  the  wild  horses  out. 

However,  the  lieutenant  was  bound  to  try.  In 
the  morning  he  picked  out  the  six  best  horses,  which 

116 


"THE  MOUNTAINS!    THE  MOUNTAINS  I" 

included  the  yellow  pony,  and  appointed  the  riders. 
They  were  himself,  the  doctor,  Baroney,  soldier 
John  Sparks,  soldier  Freegi  ft  Stout,  and  Stub.  Only 
Baroney  and  Stub  had  seen  wild  horses  chased 
before. 

All  the  camp,  except  the  camp  guards,  followed. 
The  wild  horses  were  in  about  the  same  place,  a  mile 
distant.  They  waited,  curious,  pawing  and  snorting 
and  speaking  to  the  tame  horses,  until  within  short 
bow  shot,  or  forty  steps.  On  a  sudden  they  wheeled. 

"  After  'em!  "  the  lieutenant  shouted. 

"Hooray!" 

Ah,  but  that  was  sport!  Stub's  yellow  pony 
sprang  to  the  fore;  he  was  nimble  and  he  carried 
light.  No — another  horse  and  rider  forged  along- 
side him.  They  were  the  medicine-man  and  his 
black ;  a  good  rider  and  a  good  horse. 

Stub  hammered  and  yelled.  "Hi!  Hi!  Hi!" 
The  doctor  lashed  and  yelled.  Already  they  had 
gained  the  heels  of  the  flying  herd.  The  clods  of 
earth  thrown  by  the  rapid  hoofs  bombarded  them 
lustily.  Baroney  and  soldier  Sparks  and  soldier 
Stout,  and  even  the  lieutenant  had  been  dropped 
behind 

But  working  hard,  they  two  never  got  quite  far 
enough  in,  to  cast  the  ropes.  The  wild  horses  were 
playing  with  them.  After  about  two  miles  the  yel- 

117 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

low  pony  and  the  doctor's  horse  began  to  wheeze 
and  to  tire;  the  wild  band  were  running  as  strongly 
as  ever — only  romping  along,  biting  and  kicking 
at  each  other.  Then  as  if  to  show  what  they  really 
could  do,  led  by  their  black  stallion,  they  lengthened 
their  strides,  opened  the  gap  wider  and  wider,  and 
were  away. 

The  doctor  hauled  short. 

"  No  use,  Stub,"  he  called. 

So  Stub  pulled  down,  and  turned. 

"  No  use,"  he  agreed.    "  But  heap  fun." 

"  You  bet ! "  pronounced  the  doctor,  panting. 
"What  do  you  say  'heap*  fun  for?  That's  not 
American ;  that's  Injun.  Americans  say '  much '  fun, 
or  '  great '  fun." 

"All  right,"  Stub  admitted— for  the  doctor 
knew.  "  Heap  chase  wild  horse,  much  fun." 

"  Oh,  pshaw !  "  the  doctor  laughed.  "  If  I  could 
only  get  into  that  head  of  yours  I'd  take  the  '  heaps ' 
out  of  it  How's  your  white  spot,  these  days  ?  Burn 
any?" 

"  Some  days  burn,  some  days  no.  Some  days 
heavy,  some  days  light."  And  with  that,  Stub  kept 
his  distance.  He  wished  that  the  doctor  would  quit 
talking  about  "  getting  into  "  his  head.  A  medicine- 
man had  dangerous  power. 

The  lieutenant  and  Baroney  and  the  two  soldiers 
lift 


"THE  MOUNTAINS!    THE  MOUNTAINS!" 

had  come  as  fast  as  they  could.  There  was  a  great 
deal  of  laughing  and  joking  as  the  doctor  and  Stub 
joined  them,  and  all  rode  back  for  the  main  party, 
and  camp.  The  lieutenant  joked  the  least.  He 
never  did  joke  much,  anyway;  he  was  stern  and 
quiet. 

"  We'll  delay  no  more  for  wild  horses,  men,"  he 
said.  "  Our  Country  expects  something  better  of 
us  than  such  child's  play  at  the  impossible.  Forward 
again,  now.  We  will  hunt  only  for  food,  in  line  of 
duty." 

This  afternoon  they  marched  thirteen  miles. 

The  Spanish  trail  continued,  up  the  river,  and 
ever  westward.  It  was  a  pity  that  some  of  the 
wild  horses  had  not  been  caught,  for  the  other  horses 
were  beginning  to  give  out.  The  grass  was  short 
and  thin,  and  eaten  off  by  the  buffalo,  and  at  night 
the  men  cut  cottonwood  boughs  for  the  horses  to 
feed  upon. 

This  was  a  rich  meat  country,  though.  Buffalo 
were  constantly  in  sight,  by  the  thousand,  many  of 
them  fat  cows,  and  the  hunters  brought  in  humps 
and  tongues.  The  Spanish  had  left  camp  signs — at 
one  camp  almost  one  hundred  fires  might  be  counted, 
meaning  six  hundred  or  seven  hundred  warriors.  A 
whole  Spanish  army  had  been  through  here,  but  the 
lieutenant  and  his  little  army  of  sixteen  marched  on, 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

There  were  several  old  camp-places  of  Indians. 
One  showed  Comanche  signs ;  near  by,  the  Spanish! 
also  had  camped,  as  if  making  ready  to  meet  the 
Comanches,  and  Baroney  and  the  lieutenant  thought 
that  the  Comanche  range  must  be  close  at  hand. 

But  where  were  the  mountains  ?  How  far  were 
the  mountains,  now?  The  river  was  getting  nar- 
rower and  deeper,  the  country  higher  and  rougher. 
Two  horses  became  so  weak  that  they  could  not 
carry  their  packs.  The  horses  had  been  traveling, 
starved  and  foot-sore,  under  heavy  loads  more  than 
twenty  miles  a  day. 

John  Sparks,  who  had  been  out  hunting,  returned 
with  news. 

"  I  sighted  an  Injun  hossback,"  he  reported. 
"  He  made  off  up  a  little  ravine  south  of  us.  Don't 
know  whether  he  saw  me  or  not." 

Before  night  fresh  moccasin  tracks  not  over  a 
few  hours  old  were  discovered.  A  large  war  party 
were  somewhere  just  ahead.  This  night  the  camp 
guards  were  doubled,  but  nothing  happened. 

In  the  morning  the  lieutenant  took  the  doctor, 
John  Sparks,  and  Stub  for  interpreter,  and  circled 
south,  to  find  the  lone  horseman.  Only  his  tracks 
were  found ;  so  they  rode  back  again  and  the  column 
marched  on. 

Nothing  special  occurred  today,  but  everybody 

120 


"THE  MOUNTAINS!  THE  MOUNTAINS!" 

kept  sharp  lookout.  The  country  was  lonely,  broken 
by  rocky  spurs  and  uplifts,  and  the  buffalo  herds 
seemed  to  be  less  in  number. 

The  next  day  the  lieutenant  and  the  doctor  led, 
as  usual,  with  Baroney  and  Stub  behind  them,  and 
the  column  of  toiling  men  and  horses  under  Sergeant 
Meek,  following.  The  two  weak  horses  had  fallen 
down,  to  die,  and  another  was  barely  able  to  walk. 

Lieutenant  Pike  frequently  used  his  spy-glass, 
which  made  things  ten  miles  off  appear  to  be  only  a 
few  steps.  In  the  middle  of  the  day  he  halted  and 
leveled  it  long. 

"  Sees  something,"  said  Baroney,  in  French. 

In  a  moment  the  lieutenant  galloped  forward  to 
the  doctor,  who  had  gone  on,  and  they  both  looked. 
But  they  did  not  signal,  and  they  did  not  come  back ; 
so  what  it  was  that  they  thought  they  saw,  nobody 
knew.  Stub  and  Baroney  strained  their  eyes,  seek- 
ing. Aha ! 

"  Smoke  sign,'*  uttered  Baroney. 

"  Heap  smoke.  Big  fire.  Mebbe  cloud,"  Stub 
answered. 

From  the  little  rise  they  could  just  descry,  far, 
far  to  the  northwest,  a  tiny  tip  of  bluish  color, 
jutting  into  the  horizon  there.  It  did  not  move,  it 
did  not  swell  nor  waver.  No  smoke,  then;  cloud — 
the  upper  edge  of  a  cloud.  The  lieutenant  and  the 

121 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

doctor  had  read  it,  and  were  riding  on.  In  another 
minute  it  had  sunk,  swallowed  by  the  land  before. 

"  N*  importe  (does  not  matter),"  murmured 
Baroney.  "  Perhaps  more  snow,  my  gracious !  But 
who  cares?" 

In  about  two  miles  more,  the  lieutenant  and  the 
doctor  halted  again,  on  the  top  of  a  low  hill  that 
cut  the  way.  They  gazed,  through  the  spy-glass, 
examining  ahead.  They  did  not  leave  the  hill. 
They  stayed — and  the  lieutenant  waved  his  hat.  He 
had  seen  something,  for  sure.  Baroney  and  Stub 
were  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  him.  The  soldiers 
were  a  quarter  of  a  mile  farther. 

"  Come !  He  signals/'  rapped  Baroney.  Now  he 
and  Stub  galloped,  to  find  out.  Behind,  the  soldiers' 
column  quickened  pace,  for  the  orders  of  Sergeant 
Meek  might  be  heard,  as  he  shouted  them. 

The  lieutenant  and  the  doctor  were  gazing  once 
more,  with  eyes  and  spy-glass  both. 

"What  is  it?  The  savages?"  cried  Baroney, 
as  he  and  Stub  raced  in,  up  to  the  top  of  the  flat  hill. 

Or  the  Spanish?  The  Spanish  trail  had  been 
lost,  for  the  past  day  or  two.  Maybe  the  Spanish 
were  encamped,  and  waiting.  The  lieutenant 
answered. 

"  No.  The  mountains,  my  man !  The  moun- 
tains, at  last!" 


"THE  MOUNTAINS!    THE  MOUNTAINS!" 

"  Hurrah !  "  cheered  the  doctor.    "  See  them  ?  " 

Baroney  stared.  Stub  stared.  It  was  the  same 
bluish  cloud,  only  larger  and  plainer.  It  jutted 
sharply — no,  it  sort  of  floated,  but  it  did  not  move. 
It  was  fastened  to  the  earth.  And  north  from  it 
there  extended  a  long  line  of  other  clouds,  lower,  as 
far  as  one  might  see;  while  southward  from  it  were 
still  lower  clouds,  tapering  off. 

"One  big  mountain!  A  giant!  Ma  foi,  how 
big!"  Baroney  gasped. 

"All  mountains.  The  Mexican  mountains,  on 
the  edge  of  the  United  States/'  announced  the  lieu- 
tenant. "  Take  the  glass.  Look — you  and  Stub." 

Look  they  did.  The  spy-glass  worked  wonders. 
It  brought  the  clouds  much  closer,  and  broke  them. 
They  were  no  longer  clouds —  they  :hanged  to  moun- 
tains indeed.  In  the  spy-glass  they  shimmered 
whitely.  That  was  snow !  Or  white  rocks !  They 
were  medicine  mountains.  And  the  big  mountain,  so 
high,  so  mysterious,  so  proud :  a  chief  mountain. 

"  You  have  been  there?  "  asked  the  doctor,  eag- 
erly, of  Stub.  "  With  the  Utahs?  " 

"No."  And  Stub  shook  his  head.  "  Not  there. 
No  remember." 

"  Pshaw !  "  the  doctor  answered. 

The  column  came  panting  up.  The  doctor  and 
the  lieutenant  again  waved  their  hats. 

123 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

"The  mountains,  men!  You  see  the  Mexican 
mountains — the  Great  Stony  Mountains.  Three 
cheers,  now,  for  the  Mexican  mountains ! " 

Everybody    cheered    three    times :    "  Hooray ! 
Hooray!    Hooray!"    Only  the  horses  stood  with 
heads  drooping;  they  did  not  care. 

"  How  far,  would  you  think,  cap'n  ?  "  Sergeant 
Meek  queried. 

"  We  ought  to  reach  their  base  day  after  to- 


morrow." 


"Hooray!" 

But  although  they  all  marched  ten  more  miles 
to-day,  and  more  than  eleven  miles  the  next  day, 
and  more  than  twenty-three  miles  the  next  day, 
from  camp  on  the  third  evening  the  big  chief  moun- 
tain and  the  lesser  mountains  seemed  no  nearer  than 
before. 

"  Sure,  they're  marchin'  faster'n  we  are,"  said 
John  Sparks. 

"  Spirit  mountains,"  Stub  decided.  "  See  'em, 
no  get  'em." 

Another  horse  was  about  to  die.  There  were 
fresh  Indian  signs,  again.  The  Spanish  trail  had 
been  found — it  led  onward,  toward  the  mountains. 
The  country  was  growing  more  bare,  the  air  thinner 
and  chillier.  Through  the  spy-glass  the  mountains 
looked  bare. 

124 


"THE  MOUNTAINS!    THE  MOUNTAINS  I" 

When  the  next  herd  of  buffalo  were  seen,  the 
lieutenant  ordered  camp  made,  and  sent  hunters  out 
to  kill  meat  enough  for  several  days.  There  might 
be  no  buffalo,  farther  on.  It  was  a  poor  country. 
He  himself  did  not  hunt.  He  went  up  on  a  hill  and 
drew  pictures  of  the  mountains,  on  a  piece  of  paper. 

Stub  did  not  hunt,  either;  he  was  almost  out 
of  arrows.  He  followed  Lieutenant  Pike  to  the 
hill,  and  watched  him.  But  the  pictures  were  only 
crooked  lines,  like  Indian  pictures. 

The  lieutenant  glanced  aside  at  him,  and  smiled. 
His  smile  was  sweet,  when  he  did  smile. 

"  Would  you  like  to  climb  that  big  blue  moun- 
tain?" he  asked. 

Stub  had  to  think,  a  moment.  The  big  blue 
mountain!  Yes,  big  and  blue  it  Was — and  white; 
and  very  far.  The  thunder  spirit  might  live  there. 
Winter  lived  there.  Could  anybody  climb  it?  It 
never  was  out  of  sight,  now,  except  at  night  (and 
it  never  was  out  of  sight,  for  days  and  days  after- 
ward), but  it  seemed  hard  to  reach/'  * 

"Top?" 

"  Yes,  clear  to  the  top,"  smiled  the  lieutenant. 

Stub's  eyes  widened ;  and  he  smiled  also. 

"  Sure.    No  afraid,  with  you." 

*This  was  the  celebrated  Pike's  Peak,  of  Colorado,  later 
named  for  Lieutenant  Pike,  first  white  man  to  tell  about  it 

125 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 


"  Good!  "  the  lieutenant  praised.  "  Well  see." 
The  hunters  killed  seventeen  buffalo,  and 
wounded  many  more.  When  the  best  of  the  meat 
had  been  smoked,  there  were  nine  hundred  pounds 
of  it,  and  one  hundred  and  thirty-six  marrow-bones. 
The  camp  finished  off  the  marrow-bones  in  one 
meal,  as  a  feast  before  marching  on  to  storm  the 
big  blue  mountain. 


VIII 

BAD  HEARTS  IN  THE  WAY 

"  DES  sauvages  (Indians)  !  " 

Thus  Baroney  shouted,  pointing,  from  where  he 
had  checked  his  horse  on  the  edge  of  a  little  rise 
overlooking  a  dip  in  the  trail. 

They  all  hadrbeen  marching  two  more  days, 
and  had  covered  about  forty  more  miles.  This 
made  seven  days*  travel,  counting  the  two  days  of 
meat  camp,  and  eighty-five  miles,  since  the  Big 
Blue  Mountain  had  first  been  sighted.  Now  it  and 
the  lesser  mountains  were  much  plainer. 

But  here  were  the  Indians,  sure  enough.  The 
lieutenant  had  rather  been  expecting  them.  Yes- 
terday the  fresh  tracks  of  the  two  men,  again,  had 
given  warning.  So  the  column  were  marching  close 
together. 

The  Indians,  on  foot,  were  running  toward  the 
column,  from  some  trees  on  the  river  bank,  at  the 
right. 

"  Close  up,  men,"  the  lieutenant  ordered. 

"  Close  up,  close  up!    Look  to  your  priming!  " 

ordered  Sergeant  Meek. 

127 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

And  the  lieutenant  and  the  doctor,  with  Baroney 
and  Stub  ready  to  interpret  for  them,  led  for  the 
Indians. 

"  Pawnee,  hein  (hey)  ?  "  said  Baroney. 

"  No  Republic  Pawnee ;  Grand  Pawnee.  War 
party;  no  horses,"  Stub  explained.  There  was  a 
difference  between  the  Republic  Pawnees  and  the 
Grand  Pawnees. 

"  Others  yonder,  lieutenant !  "  exclaimed  the 
doctor. 

They  looked.  Another  squad  of  the  Indians  were 
running  down  from  a  hill  on  the  left.  They  carried 
flags  on  lances — the  Grand  Pawnee  war  colors. 

"  Make  a  surround !  "  guessed  Baroney. 

The  lieutenant  reined  his  horse,  and  drew  his 
curved  sword. 

"  Company,  halt !   Watch  sharp,  men ! " 

He  glanced  right  and  left,  waiting  to  see  if  this 
was  an  attack.  No — for,  as  the  doctor  suddenly 
said: 

"Those  first  fellows  act  friendly,  lieutenant. 
They  have  no  arms;  they're  holding  out  empty 
hands." 

"  Forward !  "  ordered  the  lieutenant. 

In  a  minute  more  they  met  the  Indians  from  the 
timber.  These  Pawnees  did  indeed  act  friendly — 
and  all  too  friendly !  They  crowded  in  among  the 

128 


BAD  HEARTS  IN  THE  WAY 

soldiers,  shaking  hands,  putting  their  arms  around 
the  soldiers'  necks,  even  trying  to  hug  the  lieutenant 
and  the  doctor  and  Baroney  and  the  others  who 
rode  horseback. 

The  lieutenant  got  off,  good-naturedly ;  instantly 
a  Pawnee  leaped  into  the  saddle  and  rode  the  horse 
away.  The  doctor  and  Baroney  lost  their  horses, 
also;  Stub  (who  knew  what  the  Pawnees  were  up 
to)  was  almost  dragged  down,  but  he  stuck  fast. 

All  was  in  confusion  of  laughter  and  jostling 
and  pretended  play. 

"  No,  no ! "  the  lieutenant  objected;,  growing 
angry ;  and  half  drew  a  pistol.  The  me;  i  were  get- 
ting together,  wresting  their  guns  from  the  Pawnees' 
hands  and  holding  them  high,  to  keep  them  free. 

More  Pawnees,  from  the  timber,  had  joined, 
with  guns  and  bows  and  lances;  and  the  Pawnees 
from  the  hillside  had  come  in.  They  included  two 
chiefs. 

The  two  chiefs  issued  orders,  and  the  play 
stopped.  The  horses  were  returned.  Then  all  went 
on  to  the  trees  by  the  river,  for  a  talk. 

Here  matters  again  looked  bad.    The  warriors 

frolicked,  in  spite  of  the  chiefs.    They  were  Grand 

Pawnees — sixty:  a  war  party  out  to  plunder  the 

Padoucahs.    But  they  had  not  found  any  Padoucahs ; 

9  129 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

so  this  seemed  a  good  chance  to  plunder  somebody 
else,  instead  of  returning  home  empty-handed. 

The  lieutenant's  face  was  red,  as  he  angrily 
warded  off  the  hands  that  clutched  at  his  pistols  and 
gun  and  horse's  bridle. 

"  Stand  firm,  men !  "  he  called.  "  Don't  let  loose 
of  a  thing— -don't  let  them  get  behind  us! " 

"  Kape  your  distance,  you  red  rascals !  "  rasped 
Tom  Dougherty,  as  they  hustled  him  about. 

"  Steady !    Steady !  "  Sergeant  Meek  cautioned. 

"  By  thunder,  they'd  like  to  strip  us,"  the  doctor 
exclaimed. 

Even  Stub  objected  vigorously,  in  Pawnee.  The 
Grand  Pawnees  were  indeed  rascals. 

Guns  were  being  cocked — click,  click ;  several  of 
the  Pawnees,  angry  themselves,  leveled  bended  bows. 
It  was  likely  to  be  a  fight  between  the  sixteen  Ameri- 
cans and  the  sixty  Pawnees ;  and  Stub  sat  alert,  ready 
to  pluck  an  arrow  as  quick  as  lightning. 

"  Guard  those  packs,  men !  "  the  lieutenant  kept 
shouting. 

But  the  two  chiefs  were  working  hard,  shoving 
the  warriors  back,  clearing  a  space.  The  head  chief 
spoke  to  the  lieutenant,  and  signed. 

"  He  says :  *  Let  us  talk,'  "  Baroney  interpreted. 

"  Very  well.  Tell  him  we  will  talk  or  we  will 
130 


BAD  HEARTS  IN  THE  V/AY 

fight,"  replied  the  lieutenant.  "  We  won't  be  robbed. 
If  it  is  peace,  we  will  give  him  presents." 

They  all  sat  down  in  a  ring,  with  the  lieutenant 
and  Baroney  and  the  two  chiefs  in  the  center.  The 
Americans  sat  under  the  American  flag,  the  Pawnee 
warriors  sat  under  the  Grand  Pawnee  flags.  The 
doctor,  however,  stood  up,  watching  everything. 

The  Pawnee  head  chief  took  out  a  pipe  and 
tobacco,  for  a  peace  smoke.  That  looked  good.  But 
before  filling  the  pipe,  the  two  chiefs  made  speeches. 

"  They  ask  what  presents  you  will  give  them. 
They  say  they  are  poor,"  Baroney  translated.  And 
that  was  what  they  had  said. 

"  Bring  half  a  bale  of  tobacco,  a  dozen  knives, 
and  flints  and  steels  enough  for  all,  sergeant,"  the 
lieutenant  ordered. 

The  head  chief  made  another  speech.  He  was 
refusing  the  presents.  He  asked  for  corn,  powder 
and  lead,  blankets,  kettles — all  kinds  of  stuff. 

"  Tell  him  that  there  are  our  presents.  We  have 
nothing  else  for  him,"  the  lieutenant  answered. 
"  We  are  ready  to  smoke  with  him." 

The  chief  did  not  lift  the  pipe.  He  and  the  other 
chief  sat,  with  bad  spirit  showing  in  their  eyes.  The 
warriors  commenced  to  hoot,  and  handle  their  guns 
and  bows  again. 

"  He  will  not  smoke  such  poor  presents,"  Baroney 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

reported.  "  I  think  they  mean  trouble.  A  little 
tobacco,  lieutenant;  maybe  a  little  tobacco  and 
powder." 

"  You  had  best  look  out,  lieutenant,"  warned 
the  doctor.  "  I  don't  like  their  looks." 

"  Tell  the  chief  he  will  get  nothing  else.  He  can 
take  those  presents  or  leave  them,"  bade  the  lieu- 
tenant, to  Baroney. 

Baroney  hated  to  do  it,  but  he  had  to  obey.  The 
head  chief  scowled.  Then  he  signed,  and  an  old 
man  lugged  in  a  kettle  of  water,  as  a  return  present. 

Stub  heard  the  Pawnee  warriors  talking  scorn- 
fully. 

"  See  what  manner  of  men  these  white  men  are, 
with  their  rags  and  their  poor  gifts,"  they  said. 
"  They  do  not  travel  like  the  Spanish.  They  look 
like  beggars." 

But  Stub  well  knew  that  although  their  horses 
were  thin  and  sore,  and  they  themselves  were  lean 
and  tattered  and  almost  barefoot,  these  Americans 
could  fight. 

Now  Chief  Pike  and  the  two  Pawnee  chiefs 
drank  from  the  kettle  of  water,  out  of  their  hands, 
and  smoked  the  pipe,  and  ate  a  little  dried  buffalo 
meat.  Several  Indians  were  called  upon  by  the  chief, 
to  pass  the  knives  and  flints  and  steels  around.  In- 

132 


BAD  HEARTS  IN  THE  WAY 

dians  who  were  given  the  presents  threw  them  upon 
the  ground. 

The  lieutenant  shook  hands  with  the  chiefs,  and 
rose. 

"  All  ready,  doctor,"  he  called.  "  Pack  your 
animals,  sergeant,  where  necessary.  We  march." 

The  Pawnees  sprang  up,  too,  and  crowded  for- 
ward again. 

"  They  make  a  surround,"  said  Baroney. 

"  Look  out,  lieutenant !  They're  stealii  g  your 
pistols — mine,  too !  "  cried  the  doctor. 

The  lieutenant  leaped  upon  his  horse  just  in  time 
to  rescue  his  pistols,  hanging  from  the  saddle.  He 
was  hemmed  in.  The  soldiers  were  swearing  and 
darting  back  and  forth,  grabbing  at  thieves  and 
protecting  the  baggage  also. 

Now  the  lieutenant  had  lost  his  hatchet.  He 
exclaimed  furiously. 

"  Tell  the  chief  my  hatchet  is  gone." 

The  chief  only  said : 

"  These  are  small  matters  for  a  great  man." 

He  drew  his  buffalo  robe  high  and  turned  his 
back. 

The  lieutenant  flushed,  more  angry  still,  and  stiff- 
ened in  his  saddle.  He  meant  business.  Stub  had 
seen  him  look  this  way  before. 

"  Leave  the  baggage  and  get  your  men  to  one 
133 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

side,  sergeant  Quick!  Be  ready  with  your  guns. 
That's  it.  Baroney,  tell  the  chief  that  the  next  war- 
rior who  touches  our  baggage  or  animals  shall  die 
instantly.  Sergeant,  at  the  first  attempt,  let  the 
men  shoot  to  kill." 

The  Pawnees  understood.  They  saw  the  muskets 
half  leveled,  and  the  grim,  determined  faces  behind. 
A  warrior  stretched  out  his  hand,  stealthily,  to  a 
pack — and  John  Spark's  muzzle  covered  him  in  a 
flash.  He  jumped  back. 

"  Go!  "  suddenly  ordered  the  head  chief.  The 
Pawnees  sullenly  gathered  their  presents,  and  with- 
out another  word  filed  away,  the  whole  sixty. 

"  See  if  we've  lost  anything,  sergeant,'  said  the 
lieutenant. 

"  One  sword,  one  tomahawk,  one  axe,  five  can- 
teens and  some  smaller  stuff  missing,  sir,"  was  the 
report. 

The  soldiers  waited  eagerly.  They  wished  to  fol- 
low and  fight. 

"  No  matter,"  gruffly  answered  the  lieutenant. 
"  We  must  save  our  lives  for  our  work,  my  men.  We 
have  work  to  do.  Forward,  march."  He  shrugged 
his  shoulders,  and  added,  to  the  doctor :  "  I  feel  as 
badly  as  they  do.  This  is  the  first  time  I  ever  swal- 
lowed an  insult  to  the  Government  and  the  uniform. 

134 


BAD  HEARTS  IN  THE  WAY 

But  our  number  is  too  small  to  risk  failure  of  our 
plans.    Now  for  the  mountains." 

"  By  gar,  once  more  my  scalp  was  loose/'  said 
Baroney,  to  Stub. 

"Yes.  They  had  black  hearts,  those  Grand 
Pawnee,"  Stub  gravely  agreed. 

This  day  they  marched  seventeen  miles,  and  the 
next  day  nineteen  miles.  In  all  they  had  come  more 
than  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles,  their  t  yes  upon 
the  Big  Blue  Mountain,  as  the  lieutenant  called  it. 
And  at  last  they  had  just  about  overtaken  it. 

From  camp,  here  where  the  river  split  into  two 
large  forks,  one  out  of  the  west,  the  other  out  of  the 
south,  the  Big  Blue  Mountain  looked  to  be  quite 
near,  up  a  small  north  fork. 

"Le  Grand  Mont,"  Baroney  called  it.  "The 
Grand  Peak."  And  the  men  called  it  that,  too. 

"  Sure,  it  can't  be  more'n  one  day's  march  now," 
John  Sparks  declared,  as  from  camp  they  eyed  it 
again.  "  We  can  be  there  to-morrow  at  this  time, 
with  ease,  in  case  those  be  the  orders." 

In  the  sunset  the  mountain  loomed  vast,  its  base 
blue,  but  its  top  pinkish  white.  After  everything 
else  was  shrouded  in  dusk,  its  top  still  shone. 

"How  high,  d'  ye  think?"  queried  soldier 
Freegift  Stout 

'35 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

"Thray  miles  higher'n  we  be;  mebbe  four," 
guessed  Pat  Smith. 

"  He's  a  grand  wan  all  right,"  sighed  Tom 
Dougherty.  "  Even  a  bur-rd  wud  nade  an  ixtra  pair 
o'  wings  to  get  atop  him,  I'm  thinkin'." 

"  No  mortal  man,  or  nothing  else  on  two  legs 
could  do  it,  I  reckon,"  said  John  Brown.  "  Unless 
that  be  the  cap'n  himself." 

"  American  can,"  Stub  reminded,  proudly. 

"You're  right,  boy,"  soldier  Terry  Miller  ap- 
proved. "  Under  orders  an  American  would  come 
pretty  close  to  filling  the  job." 

The  lieutenant  and  the  doctor  had  been  gazing  at 
the  peak;  it  fascinated  them,  like  it  fascinated  the 
men,  and  Stub.  That  night  they  talked  together 
until  late,  planning  for  to-morrow.  The  lieutenant 
had  decided  to  climb  the  mountain. 

He  sent  for  Sergeant  Meek.  The  sergeant  stood 
before  him  and  saluted. 

"  I  intend  to  take  Doctor  Robinson  and  two  of 
the  men,  and  this  boy,  to-morrow,  and  set  out  for 
the  big  mountain,"  the  lieutenant  said.  "  The  camp 
will  be  left  in  your  charge." 

"  Yes,  sir,"  replied  Sergeant  Meek. 

"These  reports  of  the  journey  to  date  I  also 
leave,  with  my  personal  baggage.  The  mountain  is 
only  a  short  day's  march,  but  I  have  to  consider  that 

136 


BAD  HEARTS  IN  THE  WAY 

we  may  be  cut  off  or  meet  with  other  accident.  To- 
morrow morning  I  will  lay  out  a  stockade,  here,  for 
the  protection  of  your  party.  You  are  to  wait  here 
one  week,  with  due  caution  against  surprises  by  the 
savages  and  the  Spanish.  Admit  nobody  except 
your  own  command  into  the  stockade.  If  we  do  not 
return  or  you  do  not  hear  from  us  within  the  seven 
days,  you  are  to  take  my  papers  and  such  brggage 
as  may  be  necessary,  and  march  down  river  by  the 
safest  direct  course  for  the  nearest  American  settle- 
ment or  military  post,  as  may  be.  At  the  American 
frontier  you  will  leave  your  men  under  instructions 
to  report  at  St.  Louis,  and  you  will  press  ahead  at 
best  speed  and  deliver  my  papers  to  General  Wilkin- 
son, the  head  of  the  Army,  wherever  he  may  be.  In 
event  of  your  disability,  you  will  entrust  the  papers 
to  Corporal  Jackson — acquainting  him  in  advance 
with  what  is  expected  of  him.  In  the  meantime,  here 
or  on  the  march,  keep  your  men  alert  and  together, 
and  do  not  forget  that  our  Country  depends  upon  our 
performing  our  duty  without  regard  to  our  own 
interests." 

"  Yes,  sir,"  replied  the  sergeant.  He  gulped — 
the  ragged,  weather-worn  soldier.  "  Excuse  me,  sir 
— 'tis  only  a  day's  march  yonder,  you  say?  You'll 
be  coming  back,  sir?  " 

"If  within  human  possibility,  sergeant.     But  I 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

must  climb  that  mountain  to  its  highest  point,  in 
order  to  make  certain  of  our  position  and  ascertain 
the  trend  of  the  various  streams.  We  are  near  the 
sources  of  the  Arkansaw,  as  is  evident.  Our  instruc- 
tions are  to  find  the  heads  of  the  Arkansaw  and  the 
Red  River,  on  our  way  to  the  Comanches." 

"  Yes,  sir,"  replied  the  sergeant. 

"  That  is  all.    Good-night." 

"  Good-night,  sir.  I  make  bold  to  wish  you  good 
luck,  sir.  I  wish  I  might  be  going  with  you,  sir." 

"  Thank  you,  sergeant." 

The  lieutenant  sat  up  late,  writing.  In  his  buf- 
falo-robe, Stub  dreamed  of  to-morrow,  and  the 
Grand  Peak.  He  had  understood  only  part  of  the 
lieutenant's  long  speech ;  but  it  was  enough  to  under- 
stand that  he  was  to  be  taken. 


IX 


A  TRY  AT  THE  "  GRAND  PEAK  " 


EARLY  in  the  morning  the  lieutenant  set  th  e  men 
at  work  cutting  down  fourteen  trees,  for  stockade 
logs.  A  stockade  was  a  fort.  This  fort  was  to  be 
only  a  pen,  open  on  the  river  and  five  feet  high  on 
the  three  other  sides. 

Soldiers  John  Brown  and  Terry  Miller  were  the 
men  chosen.  That  made  a  party  of  five.  They  all 
took  only  a  blanket  or  robe  apiece,  and  a  little  dried 
meat,  besides  their  guns  and  Stub's  bow  and  arrows. 
They  started  horseback  at  one  o'clock,  to  cross  the 
river  and  travel  up  the  north  fork,  for  the  Grand 
Peak. 

The  men  paused  long  enough  to  give  three  cheers, 
and  wave  their  caps. 

"  Bon  voyage  (Good  journey),"  Baroney  called. 

"  Good  luck  to  yez." 

"  We'll  be  lookin'  for  you  back." 

"  When  ye  get  to  the  top,  be  lightin'  us  a  bon- 
fire, Terry." 

The  lieutenant  raised  his  hat,  in  reply.  The 
doctor  waved,  the  two  soldiers  and  Stub  waved. 

139 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

And  the  five  splashed  through  the  ice-cold  water 
and  left  the  eleven  men  under  Sergeant  Meek  to 
build  the  fort.* 

According  to  the  doctor,  this  was  the  twenty- 
fourth  day  of  the  month  named  November.  By  the 
morning  light  the  Grand  Peak,  glistening  white, 
had  looked  to  be  nearer  than  ever.  The  lieutenant 
was  certain  that  a  half -day's  march  would  bring 
them  to  its  base;  to-morrow  they  would  climb  it, 
and  would  be  back  in  camp  on  the  third  day. 

Mile  after  mile  they  hastened,  their  eyes  scanning 
the  distance  before.  The  route  up  along  the  small 
fork  was  gravelly  and  bare,  except  for  clumps  of 
sage  brush,  and  the  willows  bordering  the  stream. 
In  places  they  had  to  cross  deep  washes  cut  by  the 
rains.  Not  a  living  thing  was  sighted,  save  rabbits 
and  prairie-dogs  and  a  few  antelope.  And  the 
Grand  Peak  and  the  line  of  lesser  peaks — some  white, 
some  steel-gray,  waited. 

The  sun  sank  low  and  lower,  over  their  southern 
end.  The  Grand  Peak  grew  bluer  and  colder,  and 
the  other  mountains  darkened. 

The  lieutenant  and  the  doctor  led.  They  always 
rode  together.  Stub  and  soldiers  Miller  and  Brown 
followed  close  behind.  After  a  while  they  all  quit 

*  The  fort  was  near  present  Pueblo,  Colorado.  Lieutenant 
Pike's  squad  marched  up  the  west  side  of  Fountain  Creek 

140 


A  TRY  AT  THE  "GRAND  PEAK", 

the  stream,  to  strike  westward,  on  a  trail  more  direct. 

Soldier  Miller  scratched  his  head,  on  which  the 
hair  was  long. 

"  It's  a  queer  thing,  John,'5  he  said.  "  There  it 
is,  that  peak — and  there  it's  been  for  more'n  a  hun- 
dred miles,  with  us  a-making  for  it  and  never  n  cach- 
ing it." 

"  We'll  not  reach  it  this  day,  that's  sure,  lad/' 
answered  John.  "  We've  covered  ten  miles,  and 
you'd  think  we'd  been  standin'  still !  " 

In  two  miles  more  the  sun  had  set.  The  shadows 
of  the  mountains  seemed  to  extend  out  over  the  plain 
and  turn  it  dark  and  cold.  Stub  pulled  his  robe 
closer  around  his  neck.  Now  the  Grand  Peak  had 
changed  to  deep  purple — it  had  pulled  its  own  robe 
up,  for  the  night. 

The  lieutenant  and  the  doctor  suddenly  veered 
aside,  to  a  single  low  cedar,  the  only  tree  of  the  kind, 
around.  There  they  halted  and  swung  from  their 
saddles. 

"  We'll  make  camp,  men,"  the  lieutenant  ordered. 
"  The  base  of  the  mountain  evidently  is  farther  than 
we  had  figured.  But  we'll  reach  it  to-morrow  morn- 
ing, easily,  and  doubtless  the  top  also,  before  night." 

This  was  a  cold  camp — very  cold  with  the  breath 
from  the  mountains.  They  had  dried  buffalo-meat 
to  chew  on,  but  no  water  except  that  in  the  canteens, 

HI 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

and  the  lieutenant  wished  to  save  on  water,  for  the 
climb. 

He  started  them  out  again  early,  before  sun- 
rise. They  headed  for  the  Grand  Peak.  The  horses 
were  stiff,  from  the  night,  and  thirsty,  and  moved 
slowly  at  first.  Presently  the  sun  rose.  The  Grand 
Peak  flashed  white  in  its  beams,  and  assuredly  was 
near.  The  foothills  at  its  base  were  dark  green: 
trees. 

And  there  they  stayed,  the  peak  and  the  foothills, 
all  day!  Stub's  eyes  ached  with  gazing.  Soldier 
Brown  grumbled  a  little. 

"  It's  a  wild-goose  chase.  I've  said  that  no  man 
will  ever  climb  yon  peak.  We'll  wear  out  ourselves 
and  our  hosses  for  no  thin'.  Even  if  we  ever  reach 
the  foot  of  it,  look  what's  ahead  of  us." 

"  You  may  be  sure  the  cap'n'll  climb  it,  whether 
or  no,"  retorted  soldier  Miller.  "  He's  set  out  to  do 
it,  and  do  it  he  will." 

"  Oh,  well ;  we're  gettin'  into  a  more  likely  coun- 
try, anyhow,"  John  granted.  "  The  sign  is  better — 
that's  one  comfort." 

This  was  true.  They  were  entering  among  low 
hills,  covered  with  cedars  and  pines.  Up  and  down, 
up  and  down,  and  winding  over  and  through,  they 
hopefully  pushed  on — and  from  each  rise  they  might 
see  the  long  dark-green  slope  of  the  Grand  Peak 


A  TRY  AT  THE  "GRAND  PEAK" 

more  plainly.  What  a  tremendous  huge  fellow  he 
was,  as  he  towered,  shadow-flecked,  into  the  floating 
clouds !  The  clouds  veiled  his  top ;  he  pierced  them, 
and  thus  he  sat  gazing  above  the  world. 

"Gosh!"  murmured  John  Brown.  "He's  a 
neck-cracker." 

Toward  evening  the  lieutenant  and  doctor,  in 
advance  and  just  crossing  another  of  the  many  roll- 
ing hills,  shouted  back?  and  waved. 

"Almost  there,  men!" 

When  the  three  others  toiled  up  to  the  same 
place,  they  saw.  A  shallow  valley  lay  before ;  at  the 
farther  edge  the  timbered  slope  of  the  Grand  Peak 
commenced. 

Hurrah! 

Several  buffalo  were  feeding,  below.  The  lieu- 
tenant and  the  doctor  made  a  dash  for  them — clev- 
erly headed  them  off,  shot  rapidly,  and  downed  two. 

"  Fresh  hump  for  supper,"  cheered  Terry.  "  I 
could  eat  a  whole  one,  myself." 

"  Sure,  I  could  drink  a  river  dry,  first,"  wheezed 
John.  "  Do  you  mind  that  we've  struck  no  water 
since  mornin'  ?  " 

"  Water  there,"  Stub  hazarded,  pointing  at  a 
line  of  lighter  green  near  the  foot  of  the  mountain. 

They  arrived  below  in  time  to  help  butcher  the 
buffalo  while  the  lieutenant  and  the  doctor  rode  on 

143 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

looking  for  a  good  camping  place.    It  was  too  late 
to  do  anything  more  this  day. 

A  good  camp  spot  was  found  on  a  little  creek  of 
ice  cold  water  from  several  springs  flowing  out  of 
the  mountain's  base. 

"  Here  we  are  at  last,  lads,"  the  lieutenant  wel- 
comed, as  they  brought  the  meat  in.  "  We've  wood, 
meat  and  water,  and  to-morrow  we'll  climb  to  the 
top.  Success  awaits  us." 

"  It's  been  a  long  pull,  eh?  "  latighed  the  doctor. 
"  How  about  you,  Stub?  Are  you  game?  I  mean, 
are  you  ready  to  try?  " 

"  I  go,"  Stub  announced. 

"  With  the  cap'n's  permission  we'll  all  go,  sir," 
added  soldier  Miller.  "  'Twill  be  a  view  worth  the 
seeing,  up  yonder  above  the  clouds." 

"No  tellin'  what  we'll  find,  I  reckon,"  put  in 
John  Brown. 

"  Whatever  happens,  we'll  be  content  in  the 
knowledge  that  we're  losing  no  opportunity,"  the 
lieutenant  declared.  "  When  we  stand  up  there,  on 
what  may  prove  to  be  the  uttermost  southwestern 
border  of  the  United  States,  we  will  have  extended 
the  authority  of  the  Flag  into  a  region  doubtless 
never  before  penetrated  by  man." 

"And  procured  considerable  geographic  infor- 
mation," said  the  doctor. 

144 


A  TRY  AT  THE  "GRAND  PEAK" 

"  Yes,  sir.  The  Government  will  be  enabled  to 
revise  its  atlases  with  accuracy,  according  to  our 
new  data  as  to  the  course  of  certain  rivers,  and  the 
National  boundary  between  the  United  States  and 
the  Mexican  territory  westward.  And  we  may  per- 
ceive a  route  that  will  take  us  directly  from  the 
Arkansaw  to  the  head  of  the  Red  River  and  the 
Comanche  country." 

The  long  slope  of  the  mountain  rose  dark  and 
brooding  right  above  them.  They  were  so  close  in 
that  from  the  campfire  they  could  not  see  the  top, 
but  they  felt  the  snow  whitely  waiting,  up  toward 
the  black  sky  beyond  the  million  stiffly  marshalled, 
sighing  pines. 

Yes,  cold  it  was,  even  here  at  the  base;  much 
colder  than  last  night,  out  on  the  plain.  In  spite  of 
the  fire,  their  coverings  were  all  too  thin.  At  break- 
fast, before  sun-up  in  the  morning,  the  lieutenant's 
instrument  by  which  he  read  the  cold  said  nine  de- 
grees above  freezing.  In  his  moccasins,  made  from 
a  piece  of  his  buffalo-robe,  Stub's  feet  tingled.  Sev- 
eral days  back  John  Sparks  had  given  him  an  old 
pair  of  cotton  trousers,  cut  off  at  the  knees,  but 
these  did  not  seem  to  amount  to  much,  here.  Still, 
Terry  Miller  and  John  Brown  had  nothing  better, 
and  their  bare  toes  peeped  through  the  holes  in  their 
shoes. 

10  145 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

"  We'll  leave  the  camp  as  it  is,"  the  lieutenant 
briskly  ordered.  "  We'll  be  back  by  night,  so  we'll 
not  .need  our  blankets  or  meat.  See  that  the  horses 
are  well  staked,  Miller,  where  they'll  be  able  to  drink 
and  forage  during  the  day." 

Doctor  Robinson  had  gone  outside  for  a  minute. 
They  heard  his  gun.  He  came  in,  packing  a  partly 
dressed  deer. 

"  It's  a  new  kind,  lieutenant,"  he  panted. 

"  Good.    We'll  hang  up  the  hide,  to  inspect  later." 

The  new  kind  of  deer — a  large  deer  with  ears  like 
mule  ears — was  quickly  butchered.  They  hung  its 
hide  and  the  best  of  the  meat  upon  a  tree,  until 
their  return  at  evening. 

"  Forward  march,  to  the  top,  men,"  the  lieuten- 
ant bade.  "  Take  only  your  guns  and  ammunition. 
Never  mind  the  canteens.  We'll  find  plenty  of  water, 
I'm  sure.  All  ready,  doctor  ?  " 

"  All  ready." 

With  the  lieutenant  in  the  lead  and  Stub  bringing 
up  the  rear,  they  attacked  the  timbered  slope.  Puff, 
puff !  Wheeze,  wheeze !  The  pine  needles  underfoot 
and  the  frosty  soil  were  slippery.  Clouds  veiled  the 
sky,  the  timber  depths  were  dark  and  cold,  but  pres- 
ently they  all  were  sweating.  Gulches  and  draws  cut 
the  way,  so  that  by  sliding  down  in  and  clambering 
out,  or  else  making  circuits  they  lost  much  time. 

146 


A  TRY  AT  THE  "GRAND  PEAK" 

The  mountain  fought  them  with  cliffs  and  canyons, 
too,  and  sometimes  they  could  scarcely  make  distance 
on  hands  and  knees.  Now  and  then  they  had  to 
halt,  to  rest  and  catch  breath. 

Once  or  twice  they  jumped  the  new  species  of 
deer,  from  sudden  coverts;  there  were  many  large 
birds,  that  rose  with  loud  whirr.  "  Pheasants,"  the 
doctor  and  lieutenant  called  them.  And  twice,  in 
the  early  morning,  they  saw  buffalo  feeding — a 
smaller  buffalo  than  those  upon  the  plains. 

But  they  did  not  stop  to  hunt  any  of  these. 

About  mid-morning  they  paused  to  rest  again, 
and  gaze  behind  from  an  open  rocky  knoll.  The  sun 
had  burst  forth. 

"  A  fine  day  after  all,"  panted  the  lieutenant. 

"  Yes,  sir,  up  here.  But  look  below.  Ain't  that 
a  snowstorm,  sir  ? "  wheezed  Terry  Miller.  The  feet 
of  him  and  of  John  Brown,  where  seen  through  their 
worn-out  shoes,  were  bruised  and  bleeding.  Stub's 
moccasins  were  shredded  and  soaked.  The  feet  of 
the  lieutenant  and  the  doctor  were  in  no  better  shape. 

Now  when  they  gazed  backward  and  down,  they 
looked  upon  a  layer  of  dull  cloud.  With  occasional 
break,  the  cloud  rested  over  all  the  country  at  the 
mountain's  base — and  through  the  breaks  might  be 
seen  the  spume  of  falling  snow ! 

"  We've  come  some  way,  eh  ?  "  remarked  the 
147 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

doctor.     "  Thank  fortune,  we*  re  above  the  storm. 
We  ought  to  be  near  the  top." 

But  peer  as  they  might,  they  could  not  see  the 
top.  The  timber  and  the  rocks  extended  on  and  on 
and  on. 

"  A  pair  o'  stockin's  would  feel  mighty  good,  on 
this  kind  of  a  trip,"  muttered  John  Brown.  "  'Tain't 
what  you'd  call  a  barefoot  trail,  in  winter." 

They  rested  a  minute,  the  men  leaning  upon 
their  muskets.  Then 

"  Come,  boys,"  the  lieutenant  urged  impatiently. 
"  One  more  stint  and  we'll  make  it.  Forget  your 
feet.  Think  only  of  the  top." 

They  climbed,  breathing  short  and  fast  while 
they  clambered  and  slipped.  At  noon  they  still  had 
not  reached  the  top ;  several  times  the  top  seemed  at 
hand,  but  when  they  glimpsed  it,  shining  white,  it 
always  was  across  another  ridge,  and  higher. 

Stub's  ears  rang,  his  heart  drummed,  his  feet 
weighed  like  lead.  The  two  soldiers  staggered  and 
stumbled.  The  snowstorm  below  appeared  far.  But 
the  lieutenant  and  the  doctor  knew  no  quitting. 

"We'll  not  reach  it,  this  day,"  gasped  John 
Brown.  "  'Tis  the  same  old  story.  Marchin',  and 
marchin',  and  never  gettin*  there." 

"  Anyhow,  we'll  reach  it  to-morrow,"  Terry 
replied. 

148 


A  TRY  AT  THE  "GRAND  PEAK" 

The  sun  sank ;  the  air  grew  very  cold.  Up  here 
there  was  nothing  moving  but  themselves ;  the  deer 
and  the  pheasants  and  the  squirrels  had  gone  to  bed. 
The  pines  were  soughing  mournfully  in  an  evening 
breeze. 

The  lieutenant  came  to  a  stop  before  a  reddish 
cliff  which  overhung  and  formed  a  shallow  cave. 

"  We've  done  enough  for  one  day,"  he  panted. 
Even  he  looked  tired  out.  "  I  think  we'll  gain  the 
top  shortly  in  the  morning.  We're  into  snow,  and 
the  trees  are  thinning;  the  top  cannot  be  far.  We'll 
take  advantage  of  this  cave,  for  the  night.  It's  a 
shelter,  at  least." 

"  That's  one  piece  of  luck,"  the  doctor  laughed. 

"  We'll  bunk  together,  so  as  to  keep  warm," 
announced  the  lieutenant.  "We'll  waive  question 
of  rank — we're  all  men,  serving  our  Flag." 

He  made  no  mention  of  the  fact  that  they  were 
tired,  hungry  and  thirsty  after  a  long  day's  climb, 
and  that  they  did  not  have  blankets  or  food  or  water. 
He  seemed  to  think  that  if  he  could  stand  it,  they 
should  stand  it,  too,  for  the  sake  of  duty.  That  was 
his  style — that  was  one  reason  the  men  loved  him. 
He  never  asked  them  to  do  more  than  he  did,  and 
he  never  took  his  ease  even  when  he  might,  as 
commander. 

But  this  proved  to  be  a  miserable  night.  The 
149 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

fire  at  the  mouth  of  the  cave  smudged  and  smoul- 
dered. The  rock  bed  was  hard  and  cold.  There 
was  nothing  to  eat,  nothing  to  drink,  nothing  to 
see;  all  around  stretched  the  slope  of  the  mountain, 
black  and  white  and  silent  and  lifeless — and  cold, 
cold,  cold. 

Nobody  slept  much,  as  they  all  lay  huddled  close 
to  each  other  for  mutual  warmth.  They  only  dozed 
shiveringly,  afraid  to  move  for  fear  of  losing  what 
little  warmth  they  were  making. 

It  seemed  to  Stub  that  he  had  just  dropped  off, 
at  last,  when  he  was  aroused. 

The  lieutenant  was  standing  outside  the  cave. 
Daylight  had  come. 

"  Up,  men,"  the  lieutenant  cried.  "  See  this 
view !  Oh,  doctor !  Be  quick.  It's  glorious." 

They  piled  out,  with  sundry  grunts  and  groans 
over  muscles  stiffened  by  yesterday's  work  and  by 
the  hard  bed.  The  lieutenant  had  spoken  truly.  The 
sky  overhead  was  flushed  rosily  with  sunrise — a  clear 
day,  here;  but  the  storm  still  raged  down  below. 
The  clouds  there  extended,  level,  in  a  thick  layer 
of  drab  and  white  and  pink,  closing  off  the  plains 
world  from  the  mountain  world. 

"  And  yonder  is  the  top,  boys."    The  lieutenant 

pointed.    "It's  nearer  than  we  thought.    Let's  try 

150 


A  TRY  AT  THE  "GRAND  PEAK" 

for  it  now,  and  get  back  to  camp  and  our  supplies 
before  dark." 

He  struck  out  and  upward;  in  single  file  they 
followed,  trudging  through  the  brittle  snow,  and 
weaving  among  the  pines.  The  final  white  ridge 
which  their  eyes  had  been  marking  during  most  of 
yesterday  loomed  large  and  plain  above 

The  snow  gradually  deepened.  Its  surface  bore 
not  a  trace  of  foot  or  paw  or  hoof.  Soon  it  was  to 
their  knees,  soon  thigh  high ;  but  they  were  out  from 
the  trees  and  upon  the  bald  space  which  formed 
the  top. 

Only  a  few  more  steps,  now,  through  snow  waist 
high,  with  rocks  and  gravel  underfoot.  Whew! 
Now  for  it!  Hooray!  The  lieutenant  was  there 
first,  to  halt,  and  gaze  about. 

"Is  that  it,  lieutenant?"  puffed  the  doctor, 
anxiously. 

Terry  Miller  huskily  cheered,  stumbled,  but 
forged  ahead. 

The  lieutenant  stood,  fixedly  peering  beyond. 

"  What !  "  uttered  the  doctor,  arrived. 

"  It's  the  wrong  peak,  men,"  quietly  said  the 
lieutenant,  his  voice  flat  in  the  thin  air.  "  Yes,  the 
Wrong  peak." 

The  others  floundered  to  him  and  the  doctor,  to 
gaze  also.  They  all  leaned  heavily  upon  their  guns, 

151 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

Stub's  legs  trembled;  he  had  nothing  upon  which 
to  lean ;  but  he  stared,  wide-eyed,  his  heart  thumping. 

It  was  the  top.  On  the  other  side  the  mountain 
fell  away,  in  a  long,  long  snowy  timbered  slope,  down 
into  a  deep,  broad  valley  of  dark  pines ;  and  at  the 
farther  edge  of  the  valley  there  arose  a  mountain 
again — a  snow-capped,  much  higher  mountain:  the 
Grand  Peak  itself!* 

"  And  all  our  climb's  for  nothin',  you  say,  sir?  " 
wheezed  John  Brown.  "We're  not  on  the  Grand 
Peak  at  all?" 

"  No.  But  our  climb  had  not  been  for  naught 
We've  done  our  best,  as  soldiers."  The  lieutenant's 
tone  was  dull  and  disappointed. 

"  I  don't  see  how  we  made  the  mistake,"  the  doc- 
tor proffered.  "  We  thought  that  we  were  at  the  true 
base." 

"  We  had  no  means  of  telling  otherwise,  doctor. 
This  mountain  looked  to  be  a  part  of  that  other; 
but  that  other  is  separate,  and  twice  as  high.  I  judge 
it's  fully  fifteen  miles  distant,  now." 

"  Shall  we  try  for  it,  sir?  "  Terry  Miller  asked. 
"  The  day's  young,  sir." 

The  lieutenant  shook  his  head  decisively. 

"  Not  this  trip,  Miller.    'Twould  take  a  whole 

*  They  had  climbed  Cheyenne  Mountain,  height  9407 
south  of  Pike's  Peak,  which  is  14,109  feet  in  height 

152 


A  TRY  AT  THE  "GRAND  PEAK" 

day  to  reach  its  base.  You  and  Brown  have  no 
stockings,  we  none  of  us  have  proper  clothing — no 
blankets,  no  provisions,  and  there's  little  prospect  of 
game.  We've  come  so  far,  and  taxed  our  strength 
to  the  limit.  Comparing  the  height  of  that  mountain 
with  this,  I  believe  that  no  human  being  can  climb 
the  Grand  Peak  and  survive.  It  is  a  region  of  eternal 
snow,  barred  to  all  vestige  of  life.  We'll  go  back 
while  we  can.  We  have  performed  our  duty,  and 
we  can  see  nothing  from  up  here  by  reason  of  the 
cloud  bank." 

He  looked  at  his  thermometer. 

"  Four  degrees  below  zero."  Zero  was  the  freez- 
ing-point. 

He  glanced  sharply  about. 

"  We  must  make  haste.  The  storm  is  rising 
on  us." 

And  even  as  he  spoke  the  air  turned  raw  and 
cloud  wreaths  began  to  float  around  them.  So  they 
back-tracked  as  fast  as  they  could,  and  guided  by 
a  convenient  ravine  followed  it  down  with  such 
speed  that  they  reached  their  camp  at  the  base  before 
dark,  but  in  a  snowstorm. 

"  Well,"  sighed  John  Brown.  "  The  horses  are 
safe,  but  the  birds  and  beasts  have  eaten  our  deer 
and  everything  else." 

The  lieutenant  shot  a  pheasant;  of  their  meat 
153 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

there  was  left  only  two  deer-ribs;  and  they  drank 
and  ate. 

"  Rather  limited  rations,  for  five  hungry  persons 
after  a  two-days'  fast,"  the  doctor  joked. 

"  We  have  our  blankets,  and  we  are  safe,  sir," 
the  lieutenant  answered.  "  Such  a  matter  as  diet 
should  not  enter  into  the  calculations  of  men  who 
explore  the  wilderness.  They  must  expect  only 
what  they  will  get." 

"  The  little  cap'n's  a  man  o'  iron ;  he's  not  flesh 
and  blood,"  Terry  murmured,  to  John  and  Stub. 
"  But  I  reckon  he'd  not  refuse  a  bit  more  rib, 
himself." 

"  With  him,  when  your  belt's  at  the  last  hole, 
why,  cut  another,"  said  John. 

However,  safe  they  were,  although  still  very  hun- 
gry. In  the  morning  they  rode  down  the  creek,  con- 
stantly getting  lower  and  finding  less  snow.  Just 
after  noon  the  men  shot  two  buffalo.  That  made  a 
full  feast — the  first  square  meal  in  three  days.  So 
to-night  they  camped  more  comfortably  under  some 
shelving  rock,  outside  the  hills. 

The  place  seemed  to  be  a  favorite  camp  ground 
for  Indians,  also.  The  valley  was  strewn  with  their 
horse  sign,  and  with  broken  lodge-poles  and  old 
lodge-pins.  The  lieutenant  thought  that  these  had 

154 


A  TRY  At  THE  "GRAND  PEAK" 

been  letan  or  Comanche  camps,  and  was  much 
interested. 

The  next  afternoon  they  sighted  the  stockade; 
they  were  almost  home. 

"  The  flag's  still  flying.  Thank  God,  the  party's 
all  right,"  exclaimed  the  lieutenant.  "  Give  them  a 
cheer,  boys,  when  we  arrive.  We  return  disap- 
pointed, but  not  defeated,  and  far  from  conquered." 

The  hoarse  cheer  was  answered.  The  soldiers — 
Sergeant  Meek,  Corporal  Jerry  Jackson,  Freegift 
Stout,  Alec  Roy,  and  all — trooped  out,  to  stand  in 
line  and  present  arms  as  the  lieutenant,  leading,  rode 
through  the  gate.  He  saluted  them  like  an  officer 
again,  and  smiled  wanly  as  if  glad  to  be  back. 


ONWARD  INTO  WINTER 

"  So  yez  didn't  climb  the  Grand  Peak,  after  all," 
Tom  Dougherty  once  more  queried. 

"  We  climbed  far  enough.  As  I  told  you  before, 
nothin'  on  two  legs  or  on  twice  two  legs  will  ever 
climb  that  Grand  Peak,"  John  Brown  answered. 
"  Only  an  eagle  can  fly  there.  We  were  above  the 
clouds,  with  naught  to  eat  and  little  to  breathe ;  and 
yon  was  the  Grand  Peak  itself,  as  high  again." 

The  men  were  wearied,  but  not  yet  wearied  of 
hearing  about  the  try  for  the  Grand  Peak. 

"  You're  right.  It's  beyond  the  reach  o'  lungs 
and  legs,"  said  Sergeant  Meek.  "  For  the  cap'n 
and  the  doctor  measured  it  to-day  with  their  instru- 
ments, from  a  good  sight  of  it.  Ten  thousand,  five 
hundred  and  eighty-one  feet  above  ground  they  make 
it  out  to  be,  or  a  good  two  miles  into  the  air.  And 
allowing  for  the  fact  that  we're  nigh  eight  thousand 
feet  up,  right  where  we  be,  though  you  might  not 
think  it,  that  peak  rises  more'n  eighteen  thousand  feet 
above  sea  level.  The  cap'n  says  it's  close  to  being 
the  highest  mountain  in  the  world."  * 

*The  Lieutenant's  measurement  was  wrong  only  about 
1,000  feet.  The  height  of  the  plain  where  they  had  been  camp- 
ing was  some  4,500  feet,  and  Pike's  Peak  rises  9,600  feet  above. 

156 


ONWARD  INTO  WINTER 

Corporal  Jerry  Jackson  came  in,  from  changing 
guard,  and  stood  warming  himself  by  the  fire. 

"  By  jiminy,  those  hosses  are  being  eaten  alive," 
he  said.  "  I  do  .pity  'em.  I'd  hate  to  be  a  hoss, 
on  a  trip  like  this," 

"Yes;  a  man  can  understand  an'  grin  an*  bear 
it ;  but  a  hoss  hasn't  any  sense  o'  the  why  an'  where- 
fore." 

"  Those  pesky  magpies  are  still  at  'em,  are  they?" 
asked  the  sergeant. 

"  A  man  to  a  hoss  couldn't  keep  the  things  of! 
with  a  club." 

"  They  even  try  to  take  the  meat  out  a  fellow's 
hands,"  quoth  Freegift  Stout. 

For  the  hungry  magpies — bold  birds  of  black- 
and-white,  with  long  tails — hovered  over  the  un- 
saddled and  unpacked  horses,  lighted  and  pecked 
their  raw  backs  until  the  blood  flowed  afresh.  The 
horses,  poor  weak,  thin  creatures,  kicked  and  whin- 
neyed  in  vain.  The  magpies  stuck  fast  and  rode 
upon  them,  pecking.  And  as  Freegift  declared, 
swooped  at  the  men  also  and  grabbed  for  the  meat 
in  their  hands. 

"Have  Roy  and  Gordon  come  in  sight  yet?" 
Sergeant  Meek  asked. 

"  We  thought  we  could  see  'em  away  out,"  re- 
plied Corporal  Jerry. 

J57 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

"  I  don't  wish  'em  frozen  feet.  We've  got 
enough  of  such  in  camp." 

"  Yes,  and  one  pair  too  many,  speaking  for  my- 
self," groaned  Jake  Carter. 

This  was  the  fourth  day  since  leaving  the  stock- 
ade, and  a  bitter  cold  day,  albeit  warmer,  according 
to  the  lieutenant's  instrument,  than  yesterday.  The 
thermometer  stood  at  only  three  degrees  below, 
freezing;  yesterday  it  had  been  at  seventeen  below. 

The  lieutenant  had  marched  them  out  of  the 
stockade,  in  a  heavy  snowstorm,  on  the  morning 
after  the  return  from  the  climb.  The  route  was 
westward,  again,  up  the  south  side  of  the  Arkansaw. 
Just  why  he  was  so  impatient  to  go  on,  snow  or 
no  snow,  none  of  the  men  knew.  Maybe  he  was  in 
hopes  of  finding  the  letans  or  Comanches,  yet;  but 
Stub  himself  was  quite  certain  that  the  letans  win- 
tered farther  south.  Or  if  he  wished  to  discover 
the  head  of  the  Arkansaw  and  of  the  Red  River, 
then  the  men  wondered  why  he  didn't  build  warm 
quarters,  and  lay  in  meat,  and  make  fur  clothing, 
so  as  to  explore  safely. 

"  Sure,  sometimes  I  think  that  what  he's  aimin' 
at  is  to  foller  this  here  Spanish  trail  cl'ar  into  New 
Mexico,  an*  fetch  up,  with  all  of  us,  at  Santy  Fe, 
even  as  prisoners  to  them  Spanish,"  John  Sparks 
hazarded.  "We  can  swear  we  made  a  mistake, 

158 


ONWARD  INTO  WINTER 

not  knowin'  the  country ;  an*  when  we  get  back  home 
again  we'll  have  a  nice  lot  o'  news  about  them  people 
an1  the  trail  in,  for  the  Government." 

"  That'll  do,"  Sergeant  Meek  rebuked.  "  'Tis  for 
him  to  lead  and  for  us  to  follow;  and  he'll  do  the 
thinking." 

They  had  marched  fifteen  miles,  the  first  day, 
through  the  storm,  with  all  on  foot  because  the 
horses  were  getting  unable  to  carry  anything  but 
the  packs.  In  fact,  for  some  days  past  it  had  been 
more  comfortable  to  walk  than  to  ride. 

All  that  night  it  had  snowed,  and  was  still  snow- 
ing in  the  morning.  The  men  had  slept  under  one 
blanket  or  robe  apiece,  in  the  snow.  The  little  tent 
for  the  lieutenant  and  the  doctor  and  Stub  sagged 
with  the  weight. 

"  My  gracious,  but  this  is  hard  on  the  horses," 
Baroney  said.  "  They  paw  and  paw,  to  find  one 
mouthful — and  on  their  backs  the  ravens  take  many 
mouth  fuls." 

This  day  there  was  no  marching.  The  men  had 
all  they  could  do  to  keep  the  fires  going,  and  not 
freeze.  John  Sparks,  who  was  a  hunter,  went  out, 
but  saw  nothing.  By  evening  the  snow  was  a  foot 
deep  on  the  level — pretty  tough  for  bare  feet  exposed 
in  gaping  shoes,  and  even  for  damp  moccasins. 

During  the  bitter  night  the  sky  cleared.  It  was  to 
159 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

be  the  seventeen-below  morning.  On  the  march  one 
old  buffalo  bull  was  sighted,  across  the  river.  John 
Sparks  and  Hugh  Menaugh  mounted  and  went  after 
him.  They  had  to  swim  their  horses  through  the 
ice-covered  current,  but  they  got  the  bull.  Then, 
only  two  miles  farther,  everybody  was  ordered  to 
cross,  because  a  steep  ridge  barred  the  way. 

In  wading  and  breaking  the  ice,  all  were  drenched 
waist  high,  and  their  wet  clothing  froze  instantly. 
The  lieutenant  was  wearing  only  thin  cotton  overalls, 
like  most  of  the  men,  but  he  seemed  not  to  feel  the 
cold.  He  sent  back  help  for  John  and  Hugh,  and 
set  the  other  men  at  work  building  a  fire.  When 
John  and  Hugh  arrived,  with  the  meat,  their  feet  had 
been  frozen  and  they  had  to  be  lifted  from  their 
horses. 

After  they  had  been  thawed  out  by  snow  and 
rubbing,  and  clothes  had  been  partially  dried,  the 
march  was  continued,  over  a  very  rough,  hilly  coun- 
try, up  the  north  side  of  the  swiftly  flowing  river. 
Then  one  of  the  pack-horses,  driven  crazy  by  the 
magpies  and  by  hunger,  ran  off,  back  down  the  trail. 

Jake  Carter,  Terry  Miller  and  Pat  Smith  had 
pursued  him  on  foot.  By  dusk,  when  camp  was 
made  at  the  end  of  thirteen  miles,  they  were  not 
in  sight  The  lieutenant  grew  worried. 

"  It's  foolhardy  for  them  to  try  to  stay  out  all 
1 60 


ONWARD  INTO  WINTER 

night,  with  no  food  or  blankets,"  he  said;  and  the 
doctor  nodded  gravely. 

"  They're  likely  to  perish,  on  that  open  prairie," 
he  agreed.  "  But  what's  to  be  done?  To  search  for 
them  would  be  a  fruitless  risk,  lieutenant." 

The  lieutenant  sat  up  late,  waiting  for  word  from 
them.  This  morning  they  had  appeared,  Jake  Carter 
with  his  feet,  also,  frozen.  It  had  been  a  terrible 
night,  for  them.  They  had  found  the  horse,  but 
could  not  bring  him  in. 

So  the  lieutenant  had  directed  Alex  Roy  and 
William  Gordon  to  ride  and  get  the  horse  (which 
was  almost  frozen,  itself,  the  other  men  had  re- 
ported); and  he  and  the  doctor,  with  Stub  and 
John  Sparks,  went  out  to  scout.  The  lieutenant  and 
the  doctor  measured  the  height  of  the  Grand  Peak, 
from  a  distance;  they  and  John  killed  two  buffalo- 
bulls,  for  moccasins  for  the  camp,  and  took  after  a 
cow  but  didn't  get  it. 

The  gritty  John  Sparks  stayed,  to  kill  a  cow  if 
he  might ;  the  other  three  returned  to  camp  with  the 
bull  hides. 

Now  the  men,  with  numbed  fingers,  were  busy 
making  moccasins,  around  the  fire,  and  not  envying 
John  the  buffalo-hunter. 

Alex  Roy  and  Bill  Gordon  came  in,  with  the 

II  161 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

strayed  horse  in  tow,  but  at  dusk  John  had  not 
appeared. 

"  He's  still  after  his  cow,  and  won't  quit  till  he 
fetches  meat.  That's  him!  Well,  he  has  a  buffalo- 
robe  and  his  flint  and  steel,  so  we'll  see  him  in  the 
morning." 

They  didn't  worry  about  John.  He  was  a  good 
hunter  and  could  take  care  of  himself. 

The  lieutenant  had  decided  not  to  wait  for  him, 
but  to  pick  him  up  on  the  way.  The  next  morning, 
which  was  the  fifth  morning,  he  broke  camp  at  five 
o'clock,  long  before  daylight;  and  sure  enough,  be- 
fore they  had  marched  far  they  found  John.  He 
rode  in  on  them,  with  a  load  of  cow  meat  To-day 
they  marched  twenty  miles,  afoot  and  ahorse ;  killed 
two  more  buffalo  and  six  wild  turkeys ;  and  what  with 
the  new  moccasins  and  plenty  of  meat  they  thought 
themselves  well  fixed. 

The  country  steadily  grew  rougher  and  the  march 
led  higher,  but  the  soil  was  gravelly  and  the  snow  less 
than  below.  Pretty  soon  the  Spanish  trail  was  lost 
again.  From  camp  everybody  went  out,  searching 
for  it,  on  both  sides  of  the  river. 

"  Come  along  wid  us,  lad,"  invited  Tom 
Dougherty,  of  Stub;  and  afoot  Stub  ascended  the 
south  side  of  the  river  with  Tom,  and  John  Sparks, 
and  John  Mountjoy.  It  was  a  good  squad.  Tom  was 

1 62 


ONWARD  INTO  WINTER 

scarcely  more  than  a  boy,  himself :  a  young  warrior 
of  twenty  years. 

Presently  they  struck  a  broad  horse-trail,  point- 
ing up-river. 

"  We'll  see  where  it  goes  to,"  said  John  Sparks. 
They  followed  it  as  rapidly  as  they  could.  The  river 
flowed  down  shallow  and  rippling  and  ice-bordered, 
among  reddish,  bare,  rounded  hills  sprinkled  with 
cedar  and  with  snow  patches.  Far  northward  they 
saw,  every  now  and  then,  the  glistening  Grand  Peak. 
It  was  hard  to  lose  this  Grand  Peak. 

About  noon  they  emerged  from  the  long  valley 
of  the  river  into  a  broadening,  with  snow  peaks 
shimmering  in  the  distances,  and  a  line  of  high  flat- 
topped  hills  crossing -the  route  before. 

"  Hist !     There  be  Injuns  or  them  Spanish, 
likely !  "  Tom  warned,  pointing  ahead. 

They  halted  and  peered. 

"  No.  I  take  it  they're  some  of  our  own  men," 
said  John  Mount  joy. 

"  What  do  ye  say,  Stub?  "  John  Sparks  queried. 

Stub  nodded.    His  eyes  were  true  eyes. 

"  No  Injuns.    Our  men,"  he  asserted. 

So  they  went  on,  toward  the  flat-topped  hills, 
and  met  the  parties  of  Sergeant  Meek  and  Baroney. 

"  Hello  to  you,"  John  Sparks  greeted.  "  What 
luck?" 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

"  There's  no  good  your  going  much  further  up 
this  side,"  answered  Sergeant  Meek.  "  The  trail 
ends,  and  you'll  get  nowhere." 

"Why?" 

"  You  see  where  those  flat-tops  lie?  The  river 
comes  out  the  mountains  there,  and  comes  a-whoop- 
ing.  We  followed  it  up,  till  the  valley  got  narrower 
and  narrower ;  and  right  soon  the  river  was  nothing 
but  a  brook  in  width,  boiling  out  something  tremen- 
dous from  betwixt  cliffs  half  a  mile  high,  leaving 
no  space  for  man  or  beast.  Nothing  gets  through 
there,  except  the  water.  We're  thinking  the  trail 
must  cross  the  river  this  side  the  gap,  and  turn  off 
north'ard  to  round  it."  * 

"  Yes,  it  doesn't  tackle  that  gap,  anyhow,"  the 
men  all  declared. 

"  Suppose  we  might  as  well  ford  at  a  good  spot, 
an'  scout  about  a  bit,"  proffered  John  Sparks. 

So  ford  they  all  did,  wading  and  splashing 
through,  and  slipping  on  the  rounded  stones  of 
the  bottom.  The  trail  was  found  indeed,  farther 
up,  on  the  north  side,  where  it  left  the  river  and 
bore  northwestward  through  a  dry  valley  or  bottom, 
as  if  seeking  a  pass. 

*  They  had  met  near  where  present  Canyon  City,  Colorado, 
is  located,  on  the  Upper  Arkansas  River  at  the  mouth  of  the 
famous  Grand  Canyon  of  the  Arkansas.  The  gap  between  the 
cliffs  was  the  Royal  Gorge,  in  the  Canyon. 

164 


ONWARD  INTO  WINTER 

"Now,  whether  to  call  this  the  trail  o'  the 
Spaniards,  ag'in,  or  an  Injun  trail,  I  dunno,"  mused 
John  Sparks,  as  they  all  grouped,  examining. 

"  It's  a  hoss  trail,  plain  enough,"  uttered  Bill 
Gordon, 

"  'Tis  hard  to  read,  that's  a  fact,"  Sergeant  Meek 
said.  "  But  it  leads  somewheres,  and  like  as  not  to 
the  Red  River  that  the  cap'n's  looking  for,  in 
Comanche  country.  Anyhow,  we've  done  all  we  can, 
for  to-day;  and  it's  time  we  went  back  down  and 
reported." 

"Sure,  he'll  have  no  excuse  for  takin'  us  through 
betwixt  them  high  cliffs,"  declared  Alex  Roy. 
"  We'd  be  drowneded,  hosses  an'  all.  'Tis  a  tough- 
lookin'  hole,  with  no  end  in  sight,  an*  the  rocks 
covered  with  ice." 

"  Come  on,  boys/'  bade  the  sergeant,  "  or  we'll 
be  late  for  supper." 

They  turned  and  marched  back,  down  river,  to 
camp.  This  evening  the  lieutenant  talked  the  report 
over  with  the  doctor.  They  decided  to  proceed  up 
the  river,  to  the  dry  valley,  and  follow  the  trail. 

The  dry  valley,  below  where  the  river  gushed  out 
of  the  break  in  the  cliff  barrier,  was  reached  in  one 
day's  march.  Camp  was  made  in  it  at  night-fall. 
This,  according  to  the  doctor,  was  the  evening  of 
the  tenth  day  of  December.  The  horses  were  watered 

165 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

with  melted  snow,  and  given  one  pint  of  precious 
corn,  each,  brought  this  far  from  the  Osage  and  the 
Republican  Pawnee  towns.  For  the  camp  there  was 
plenty  of  deer  meat,  killed  on  the  way,  and  one  buf- 
falo. It  was  to  be  the  last  big  meal,  through  some 
days. 

The  Spanish  trail  had  been  weak,  upon  entering 
the  valley.  The  lieutenant  had  rather  feared  that  the 
sign  was  only  that  of  a  small  scouting  party.  But 
farther  in  it  had  strengthened.  Now  at  the  camp  it 
appeared  to  be  a  fairly  well-trodden  road,  leading 
on  northwest  and  probably  over  the  next  range  of 
hills. 

"  The  road  to  the  Red  River— hooray !  "  cheered 
Tom  Dougherty.  "  Then  down  the  Red  River  we'll 
go,  out  o'  this  cruel  cowld,  an'  belike  we'll  be  to 
Natchitoches  an*  the  blessed  war-rmth  o'  Louisiany 
long  before  spring." 


XI 

SEEKING  THE  LOST  RIVER 

"  IT'S  no  use  to  march  farther  on  this  line, 
doctor." 

Doctor  Robinson  answered  promptly. 

"  I  think  you* re  right,  lieutenant.  We're  getting 
nowhere,  only  deeper  into  the  mountains.  Men  and 
horses  are  about  at  the  end  of  their  strength.  There 
seems  to  be  nothing  ahead,  except  more  cold,  hunger 
and  blind  scrambling." 

"  The  men  are  brave  fellows,"  said  the  lieuten- 
ant. "  That  human  beings,  half  fed  and  near  naked, 
should  be  called  upon  to  endure  such  marches  and 
camps,  amidst  snow  and  zero  weather,  is  almost  more 
than  can  be  expected  from  even  soldiers.  Their  pay 
is  a  pittance,  they  don't  know  where  they're  going, 
they  were  not  prepared  for  winter,  yet  I've  heard  not 
a  word  of  complaint.  When  we  return  to  the  United 
States,  the  Government  surely  will  reward  them." 

The  lieutenant  and  the  doctor,  with  Stub,  were 
standing  upon  a  high  ridge  some  distance  from 
camp.  A  week  had  passed  since  they  all  had  entered 
the  dry  valley,  to  follow  the  trail  north  from  the 

167 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

Arkansaw,  on  the  search  for  the  head  of  the  Red 
River. 

But  instead  of  rounding  the  gap  in  the  cliffs, 
the  trail  had  led  away,  and  away,  ever  northward, 
into  the  midst  of  the  snow-caps.  Presently,  or  after 
a  couple  of  days,  it  had  come  out  at  the  bank  of 
another  river,  frozen  over,  forty  paces  wide,  and 
flowing,  as  the  lieutenant  discovered,  northeast! 

That  was  a  disappointment  and  a  surprise.  He 
and  the  doctor  plainly  were  puzzled.  The  river  was 
wrong.  To  be  the  Red  River  it  should  have  flowed 
southeast.  The  lieutenant  decided  that  this  river 
must  be  the  Platte  River — or  the  beginnings  of  it, 
for  the  great  Platte  River  was  known  to  flow  mainly 
through  the  plains,  far  north  of  the  Pawnee  country, 
and  hundreds  of  miles  distant. 

The  snowy  mountains  had  closed  around.  They 
rose  high  and  white  and  coldly  silent.  There  ap- 
peared to  be  no  way  out,  except  by  the  back  trail  to 
the  Arkansaw  again,  or  by  following  this  new  river 
down-stream,  but  where?* 

The  trail  was  continuing,  up  along  this  frozen 
river  that  wound  through  a  series  of  snowy  valleys 

*  If  this  stream  was  the  South  Platte  River,  as  the  Lieu- 
tenant thought,  then  they  had  entered  into  the  western  part  of 
Central  Colorado's  great  South  Park;  very  far  indeed  from 
any  Red  River. 

168 


SEEKING  THE  LOST  RIVER 

between  steep  wooded  hills.  They  all  marched  upon 
it.  It  evidently  was  going  somewhere,  perhaps  to  a 
better  country,  perhaps  still  to  the  head  of  the  Red 
River  and  the  circuit  south  for  the  lower  regions  of 
New  Mexico.  At  least,  the  Spanish  had  some  goal 
in  view. 

Next,  they  had  come  to  a  large  camp,  the  largest 
yet,  and  only  a  few  weeks  old.  But  it  had  been 
an  Indian  camp.  There  were  the  circles  where  lodges 
— many  lodges — had  stood,  the  ashes  in  the  center  of 
each,  and  sign  of  fully  one  thousand  horses. 

"  Utah,"  declared  Baroney,  examining  a  cast- 
off  moccasin. 

Stub  agreed.  Moccasins  differed,  and  these  were 
Utah  moccasins,  by  the  cut. 

"  Sure,  then  we're  not  follerin'  the  Spanish,  or 
even  the  Comanches,"  John  Sparks  groaned,  doubled 
over  with  rheumatism.  The  men  all  were  pretty 
badly  crippled  by  frost  and  chilblains  and  rheuma- 
tism, and  their  belts  were  small  around  their  stom- 
achs. "Weren't  ye  ever  in  this  country  before, 
boy?  The  Utahs  had  ye,  once,  you  say." 

Stub  did  not  know. 

"  No  remember.  Big  country,  John.  Mebbe 
here,  mebbe  somewhere." 

The  lieutenant  and  the  doctor  had  asked  him  the 
same  question;  but  he  was  as  puzzled  as  they.  He 

169 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

might  have  been  hereabouts  in  summer ;  it  was  very 
different  in  winter.  His  head  hurt,  too.  So  he 
could  not  help  them. 

From  the  old  camp,  which  seemed  to  have  been 
a  hunting  camp,  a  regular  village,  and  extended  six 
miles  long  and  two  miles  wide,  covering  the  valley 
bottom,  a  trail  led  out,  up  stream  again.  In  killing 
two  buffalo  (the  first  fresh  meat  since  leaving  the 
Arkansaw)  another  gun  had  burst — the  third  in  the 
march.  Its  muzzle  had  got  stopped  with  snow,  and 
its  barrel  was  very  brittle  from  the  frost. 

John  Sparks  cut  the  burst  end  off,  so  that  the 
gun  might  be  used.  Hugh  Menaugh  had  no  gun  at 
all,  and  was  marching  with  the  lieutenant's  sword 
and  pistols. 

The  trail  westward  was  not  made  by  the  Span- 
ish. The  Spanish  trail  (if  there  had  been  any 
Spanish  trail)  was  swallowed  up,  in  the  big  camp. 
But  the  trail  out  was  better  than  none  at  all.  It  led 
through  still  more  old  camping  places,  where  there 
were  empty  corn-cribs.  There  were  no  old  corn- 
fields, though,  and  this  set  the  men  to  wondering 
whether  these  Indians  might  not  have  got  corn  from 
the  Spaniards,  after  all. 

Then,  on  a  sudden,  the  trail  quit.  It  left  them 
stranded,  amidst  the  mountains.  That  had  occurred, 
this  morning.  The  lieutenant  had  sent  out  searching 

170 


SEEKING  THE  LOST  RIVER 

parties.  He  then  had  taken  the  doctor  and  Stub, 
and  climbed  to  the  top  of  the  high  ridge,  to  spy  out 
the  country  lying  around. 

"  The  men  should  be  rewarded  the  same  as  the 
Lewis  and  Clark  men  will  be  rewarded — with  money 
and  land/'  now  the  doctor  said. 

"  A  more  heroic  little  band  never  wore  the  United 
States  uniform,"  the  lieutenant  declared. 

The  doctor  laughed. 

"  They're  not  wearing  that,  these  days,  lieuten- 
ant. No  one  would  take  you  and  them  for  soldiers." 

Very  true.  About  the  last  trace  of  the  blue  uni- 
forms had  vanished.  Only  the  lieutenant  still  had 
blue  trousers,  of  thin  cloth,  for  wearing  on  the 
march.  His  chief's  uniform,  of  bright  shoulder- 
pieces  and  shining  buttons,  he  kept  in  a  trunk,  until 
he  should  meet  the  Spaniards  or  the  Comanches. 
From  his  red-lined  cloak  he  had  cut  a  cap,  and  sewed 
fox-skin  to  it,  for  the  inside;  the  rest  of  the  cloak 
had  gone  into  socks  and  mittens,  for  himself  and 
Stub.  On  his  feet  were  buffalo-hide  moccasins,  on 
his  body  a  capote  or  blanket-coat;  and  up  to  his 
knees  his  legs  were  wrapped  in  deer-hide.  He  looked 
like  a  chief,  nevertheless. 

All  this  was  little  enough,  for  day  and  night 
wear  in  cold  and  storm.  The  doctor  had  less.  To 
be  sure,  he  had  made  himself  a  fur  cap,  of  rabbit- 

171 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

skin,  and  a  deer-hide  coat  and  mittens — but  buck- 
skin, without  much  under  it,  is  cold  stuff,  as  every- 
body knows.  His  trousers  were  torn  so  that  they 
showed  his  own  skin.  His  feet  were  clad  in  socks 
cut  from  a  piece  of  blanket,  and  in  the  hide  moccasins 
which  did  not  fit  and  had  to  be  tied  on  with  thongs. 

The  men,  and  Stub,  had  been  put  to  all  kinds  of 
shifts.  Some  wore  coats  cut,  like  the  doctor's  socks, 
from  the  gray,  threadbare  army  blankets — and  socks 
to  match.  Some  wore  coats  of  leather — poorly 
tanned  hides  that  they  had  saved.  Some  wore  even 
leather  trousers  like  leggins.  All  wore  buffalo  hide 
moccasins,  but  not  a  one  had  a  hat  or  cap.  Their 
long  hair  protected  their  heads,  and  their  faces  were 
covered  with  shaggy,  bristling  beards — except  Tom 
Dougherty,  whose  beard  was  only  a  stubble  in 
patches.  The  other  men  poked  a  great  deal  of  fun 
at  young  Tom. 

As  for  Stub,  his  beautiful  robe  had  long  ago  been 
turned  into  moccasins  and  leggins;  and  he  tried  to 
be  comfortable  in  these,  and  a  shirt  from  a  left-over 
piece  of  John  Sparks'  gray  blanket,  and  socks  and 
mittens  from  the  lieutenant's  red-lined  cloak.  He 
did  not  need  a  cap. 

Of  course,  the  blankets  and  hides  that  had  been 
used  were  needed  for  coverings,  at  night;  but  in 
such  cold  weather  it  was  almost  impossible  to  strip 

172 


SEEKING  THE  LOST  RIVER 

other  hides  and  dress  them.  They  were  like  boards, 
especially  the  buffalo  hides.  And  deer  were  scarce. 

From  the  high  ridge  where  he  and  the  lieutenant 
and  the  doctor  stood  the  view  was  wide  and  wonder- 
ful, although  not  cheering.  Mountains,  mountains, 
mountains,  their  sides  and  tips  shining  white  with 
snow,  their  bases,  where  seen,  dark  with  wooded 
hills,  the  pine  branches  heavily  laden  by  winter. 

Far  in  the  east  and  the  southeast  the  mountains 
seemed  to  form  a  line  with  every  gap  stopped. 

"Isn't  that  our  Grand  Peak,  away  yonder?" 
asked  the  doctor,  pointing.  "If  so,  I  judge  it's  a 
hundred  miles,  as  the  bird  flies." 

"  And  unreachable  from  here,  except  by  a  bird, 
sir.  We're  shut  off  from  it,  completely.  Besides, 
our  road  does  not  lie  in  that  direction.  Our  duty 
as  explorers  demand  that  we  do  not  give  up  so 
easily."  And  the  lieutenant  turned  his  glasses,  so 
as  to  sweep  the  north  and  the  northwest 

On  the  north  were  lofty  hills,  pine  covered, 
breaking  the  nearer  view;  and  snow  mountains 
grouped  behind  them.  The  frozen  river,  marked  by 
willows,  stretched  onward,  in  crooked  bed,  through 
the  valley,  now  broad,  now  narrowed,  into  the  north- 
west, soon  to  be  closed  upon  by  the  hills  and  moun- 
tains there. 

In  all  the  great  expanse  nothing  moved ;  even  the 
173 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

other  exploring  parties  were  out  of  sight.  It  was  a 
dead  country. 

The  lieutenant  shrugged  his  shoulders. 

"  Not  very  promising,  eh?  "  the  doctor  queried 
anxiously. 

"  It  does  not  promise  success.  Our  course  up 
this  river  should  be  abandoned.  We  are  constantly 
making  farther  and  farther  northward,  separated 
from  the  Red  River  by  the  mountains ;  game  is  get- 
ting less,  the  trail  is  unreliable,  and  we  shall  depend 
upon  it  no  longer.*' 

He  gazed  south  ward.  The  hills  rose  to  moun- 
tains here  also.  He  used  his  spy-glass  intently.  He 
handed  it  to  the  doctor. 

"  You'll  see  a  great  white  mountain  range,  ap- 
pearing through  a  gap  almost  directly  south." 

"  Yes,  sir.    A  thundering  way  off." 

"  It  seems  to  be  the  end  of  a  long  chain  extend- 
ing westward  from  it.  That  chain,  I  believe,  is  the 
divide  draining  on  this  side  into  the  Platte,  on  the 
other  side  into  the  Red  River.  We're  on  the  wrong 
side.  We  should  march  southwest,  to  cross  the 
nearer  portion  of  the  chain,  and  eventually  come  out 
upon  the  head  of  the  Red  River.  At  all  events,  we'll 
try  it,  while  we  can.  But  our  march  through  here 
has  not  been  wasted,  for  our  Country.  We  can  lay 
down  on  our  map  the  sources  of  the  Platte,  which  no 

174 


SEEKING  THE  LOST  RIVER 

one  has  supposed  to  be  located  at  such  a  distance  from 
the  plains." 

They  all  took  another  look,  scanning  the  region 
south  and  southwest.  With  his  own  eyes  Stub  might 
descry  the  landmark  of  the  Great  White  Mountains. 
The  air  was  very  clear,  the  sun  rested  just  right, 
and  through  the  gap  there  the  tops  of  the  mountains, 
sharp  cut  and  triangular,  stood  out  plainly  amidst  the 
othe^r,  lesser  peaks.  That  called  for  a  long,  long 
journey. 

They  went  back  to  camp.  The  other  parties 
came  in,  and  reported  nothing  but  an  old  Indian 
camp,  farther  up.  They  had  seen  no  game. 

"An1  what  nixt,  then,  I  wonder?"  Pat  Smith 
remarked,  at  the  fire.  "Do  we  kape  goin',  wid  no 
end.  Sure,  the  Red  River  can't  lay  hereabouts. 
We'll  be  nearer  comin'  to  Canady." 

"  No  keep  going,"  Stub  proudly  announced. 
"  The  cap'n  say  turn  'round,  for  south.  Big  ridge 
there ;  big  white  mountains ;  Red  River  other  side." 

"South'ard?  Hooray!  That's  a  good  word. 
It  puts  heart  into  us;  hey,  lads?  We'll  be  gettin' 
out  o*  this  trap  where  even  the  Injuns  don't  dare 
bide  in  winter,  an'  we'll  be  findin'  the  Red  River, 
after  all." 

Stub's  news  cheered  the  men  greatly.  It  took 
only  a  little  to  encourage  them. 

175 


XII 

IS  IT  FOUND  AT  LAST  ? 

"THE  Red  River,  men!  Three  cheers!  We 
think  we've  found  it  at  last ! " 

It  was  the  evening  of  the  second  day's  march 
into  the  southwest.  The  doctor  and  the  lieutenant 
had  gone  out  from  camp,  to  survey  about,  as  usual. 
The  first  line  of  mountains  had  been  crossed  and 
already  every  eye  was  eager  and  every  heart  was 
keen  for  the  traces  of  the  shifty  Red  River. 

Matters  looked  promising,  too.  Noon  camp  to- 
day had  been  made  at  a  little  spring,  the  unfrozen 
waters  of  which  flowed  trickling  and  formed  a  small 
stream  wending  southeast  for  the  bottom  of  the 
valley. 

"  The  beginnings  of  the  Red  River— do  you 
reckon  it  might  be  the  beginnings  of  the  Red  River, 
cap'n?  "  the  men  queried. 

But  the  lieutenant  smiled  and  shook  his  head. 

"  I  wouldn't  dare  say  so,  lads,  and  disappoint 
you.  We  may  be  a  long  way  yet  from  the  real  Red 
River." 

Still,  some  of  the  men  did  not  believe  him,  until 
176 


IS  IT  FOUND  AT  LAST? 

they  had  left  the  valley  and  the  spring  behind,  and 
in  a  narrow  pass  of  the  next  ridge  had  come  upon 
another  spring  and  another  stream,  larger.  Among 
so  many  springs  and  streams,  who  might  tell  which 
was  the  source  of  the  Red  River? 

They  followed  the  stream  part  way  through  the 
pass,  and  encamped  there  in  a  snowstorm.  The 
snow,  sifting  thickly,  shut  off  the  view  before;  it  was 
glum  weather  for  a  hungry  camp ;  the  men  crouched 
close,  snow-covered,  around  the  fire,  or  moved  hob- 
bling, at  their  various  jobs;  the  gaunt,  sore-backed 
horses  cropped  desperately,  pawing  into  the  snow, 
or  hunched,  coughing  and  groaning,  in  the  scant 
shelter  of  the  low  cedars  and  spruces. 

The  horses  of  the  lieutenant  and  the  doctor,  and 
Stub's  yellow  pony,  had  been  turned  into  pack  ani- 
mals, to  lessen  the  loads  of  the  other  animals. 
Everybody  was  marching  on  foot. 

"  Did  you  say  that  the  cap'n  an*  the  doctor 
thought  likely  we'd  have  to  go  cl'ar  back  south'ard, 
fur  as  the  Great  White  Mountains  yonder,  so's  to 
strike  the  river?  "  John  Sparks  asked,  of  Stub. 

"  Mebbe  there,  mebbe  sooner,"  Stub  nodded. 

"If  we  ketch  'em,  I  hope  he  won't  be  axin'  us 
to  climb  'em,"  spoke  John  Brown. 

*'  Got  to  ketch  'em,  first,"  laughed  somebody, 
12  177 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

41  We  might  as  well  be  chasing  a  mountain  as  a 
river,"  said  Terry  Miller. 

"  Oui,"  agreed  Baroney.  "  Ma  foi,  the  moun- 
tains are  there,  in  sight ;  but  the  river — it's  nowhere." 

"  Never  mind,  never  mind,  lads,"  Sergeant  Meek 
put  in.  "  Not  a  man  of  us  works  as  hard  as  him  and 
the  doctor;  they're  always  breaking  the  trail,  and 
they're  always  out  whilst  we're  resting  a  bit.  Look 
at  'em  now,  scouting  in  the  snow  without  a  bite  to 
eat.  Sure,  we  ought  to  be  proud  to  keep  a  stiff 
upper  lip  and  follow  'em  as  fur  as  they'll  go,  whether 
that's  to  Canady  or  Mexico  or  the  Pacific  Ocean. 
Ain't  we  soldiers?  " 

"We'll  follow.  You  bet  we  will,"  the  men 
chorused.  "  There's  no  harm  meant  in  our  talk, 
but  we  got  to  talk  about  somethin'  besides  our  feet 
an'  our  bellies." 

Now  here  came  the  lieutenant  and  the  doctor — 
trudging  fast,  panting,  snowy,  their  beards  plastered 
white,  but  their  thin  faces  lighted  with  smiles.  The 
doctor  gleefully  flourished  his  fur  cap,  and  hailed 
them. 

"The  Red  River,  men!  Three  cheers!  We  think 
we've  found  it  at  last !  " 

"  Hooray !  Hooray  I  Hooray ! "  The  steep 
sides  of  the  narrow  pass  echoed,  and  the  miserable 
horses  half  pricked  their  ears,  dumbly  questioning. 

178 


IS  IT  FOUND  AT  LAST? 

The  two  came  directly  to  the  fire.  They  were 
out  of  breath.  The  circle  respectfully  opened  for 
them. 

"  Did  we  hear  right?  Is  it  true,  then,  sir?  Ye 
found  the  Red  River?"  eagerly  inquired  Sergeant 
Meek,  of  the  lieutenant. 

"  Yes,  sergeant."  And  the  lieutenant  beat  his 
red  cap  and  stamped,  to  dislodge  some  of  his  snow. 
"  That  is,  the  signs  are  the  most  hopeful  for  many 
a  day,  and  we  all  have  good  reason  to  be  inspired* 
of  success.  Listen,  men.  The  facts  are  these :  Doc- 
tor Robinson  and  I  advanced  about  four  miles,  out 
of  this  defile  and  into  a  prairie  that  lies  beyond. 
There  we  discovered  a  fine  stream,  with  all  the  char- 
acteristics of  a  river.  It  is  some  twenty-five  yards 
wide,  very  swift,  in  a  clearly  marked  rocky  channel, 
and  the  general  direction  of  its  flow  is  southeast." 

"Hooray!" 

"  The  creek  we  are  now  encamped  beside  evi- 
dently joins  it.  This  is  all  I  have  to  say  at  present. 
To-morrow,  or  as  soon  as  marching  conditions  war- 
rant, we  will  proceed,  examine  the  ground  more  thor- 
oughly, and  demonstrate  whether  or  not  we  may 
consider  ourselves  actually  at  the  source  of  the  Red 
River." 

"  News  like  that  takes  the  chill  off  the  air," 
179 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

laughed  Freegift  Stout,  when  the  lieutenant  and  the 
doctor  had  gone  into  their  tent,  for  a  rubdown. 

"  B'gorry,  we  been  tellin'  'em  that  the  Red  River 
was  surely  hereabouts,"  asserted  Tom  Dougherty. 
"  Wan  spring,  an'  then  another,  an*  then  a  crick,  an' 
then  the  river  itself — an*  nixt,  out  o'  the  mountains 
we'll  be  an'  wid  iv'ry  mile  gettin'  closer  to  war-rmth 
an'  people." 

"  What  do  you  want  o'  people?  "  Corporal  Jerry 
demanded.  "  They  may  be  the  Spanish,  or  the  Paw- 
nees again,  or  worse." 

"  Come  wan,  come  all,"  Tom  retorted.  "  Sure, 
I  wouldn't  object  to  a  bit  of  a  fight,  for  a  change, 
man  to  man.  But  fightin'  these  mountains  is  up-hill 
work."  And  he  laughed  at  his  joke. 

"Well,  I  hope  with  all  my  heart  the  cap'n's 
struck  the  right  trail,"  said  Sergeant  Meek.  "  And 
he's  pretty  certain,  or  he  wouldn't  have  said  so  much. 
He's  no  man  to  make  a  brag,  as  you  know.  For  the 
first  time  since  we  entered  the  mountains  he's  looking 
sort  o'  content.  He  deserves  a  turn  o'  luck.  'Tis 
always  of  his  country  he's  thinking,  and  of  us,  and 
never  of  himself ;  and  though  in  matter  of  muscle  he's 
the  smallest  man  amongst  us,  he  picks  the  hardest 
jobs." 

In  the  morning  the  snow  was  falling  faster  than 

ever.    They  all  were  anxious  to  reach  the  river,  but 

1 80 


IS  IT  FOUND  AT  LAST? 

the  pass  was  so  clogged  with  drifts  and  their  horses 
were  so  weak  that  the  march  took  them  only  out  to 
the  edge  of  the  bottom-land. 

It  was  the  fifth  day  without  sight  of  game.  The 
lieutenant  ordered  a  hunt,  before  dark ;  but  not  even 
a  rabbit  was  found.  There  was  nothing  but  snow, 
snow,  snow. 

"  My  belt's  twice  around  me  already,  an'  is 
startin*  on  the  third  lap,"  declared  Alex  Roy. 

However,  the  horses  were  in  luck,  at  last — and 
they  needed  it.  John  Sparks  and  Tom  Dougherty 
reported  a  fine  big  patch  of  long  grass  down  near 
the  river.  In  the  morning  the  lieutenant  sent 
Baroney  and  Stub,  with  the  wretched  animals,  to 
set  them  to  grazing  and  herd  them — and  a  long  cold 
task  this  proved  to  be. 

Still,  as  Baroney  said,  as  he  and  Stub  trudged 
about  or  squatted  with  their  backs  to  the  squalls : 

"  If  we  cannot  eat,  ourselves,  it  is  a  great  pleasure 
to  watch  the  horses  eat;  hein?  " 

Late  in  the  afternoon  Corporal  Jerry  Jackson 
came  down. 

"  You're  to  fetch  the  horses  in  with  you,  at  dusk," 
he  said.  "  Never  a  trace  of  game,  all  day,  so  we'll 
pull  out  in  the  mornin'." 

"Down  the  Red  River,  mebbe,  Jerry?"  Stub 
asked. 

181 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

"  I  dunno,  but  somewhere.  The  cap'n  knows — 
an*  he  knows  we're  on  short  rations  of  only  a  few 
mouthfuls  to  a  man." 

The  doctor  and  Baroney  were  to  start  out  early, 
down  river,  hunting.  The  lieutenant  and  two  or 
three  men  were  to  explore  up  stream  and  see  where 
the  river  began,  if  they  could.  The  rest  of  the  men 
were  to  march  down  river  with  the  baggage,  until 
they  killed  enough  game  so  that  they  might  camp 
and  wait. 

"  Miller  and  Mountjoy,  'tis  you  with  the  cap'n," 
ordered  Sergeant  Meek. 

"  I  go,  too,  Bill?  "  pleaded  Stub. 

"  Sure,  that's  for  him  to  say.  I've  only  my 
orders,  lad,"  Sergeant  Bill  answered. 

So  Stub  appealed  to  Lieutenant  Pike  himself. 

"  I  go  with  you,  please?  " 

But  the  lieutenant  gravely  shook  his  head. 

"  Not  this  time,  my  boy.  You'd  best  go  down 
river  with  the  others,  where  there's  more  chance  of 
finding  game.  Up  stream  it's  a  rough  country,  and 
the  three  of  us  are  likely  to  be  hard  put  for  meat. 
We'll  only  explore  for  a  day  or  two;  you  stay  with 
the  party." 

As  anybody  might  have  foretold,  the  lieutenant 

again  had  taken  the  heaviest  work. 

182 


JIS  IT  FOUND  AT  LAST? 

"  I  go  with  the  doctor,  then,  please,"  Stub  pro- 
posed. "  Down  river." 

"  He  and  Baroney  will  be  hunting.  You  have 
no  weapon.  But  you  can  do  your  duty  like  a  soldier 
by  tending  the  horses." 

Stub  mournfully  thought  upon  his  bow,  broken 
several  days  ago.  Hugh  Menaugh  spoke  up,  saluting. 

"  Beggin'  your  pardon,  cap'n — he's  a  plucky  lad 
an*  if  you  say  for  him  to  go  wid  the  doctor  he  can 
have  one  o'  the  pistols  you  loaned  to  me.  Belike  he'll 
fare  as  well  wid  the  doctor  as  wid  us,  an*  mebbe 
bring  him  luck.  An'  we've  all  been  boys,  ourselves, 
oneasy  for  doin'  things." 

"  You've  a  kind  heart,  my  man,"  answered  the 
lieutenant,  smiling.  "If  the  doctor  is  agreeable  to 
having  his  company,  all  right.  You  may  settle  it 
between  you." 

Settled  it  was,  right  speedily,  for  Doctor  Robin- 
son had  a  kind  heart,  too. 

"  Here's  your  pistol,  then,"  Hugh  bade.  "  Wid 
wan  load.  Be  sure  ye  get  a  buff'lo,  now." 

Stub  nodded,  and  carefully  stowed  the  long  dra- 
goon pistol  in  under  his  belt  The  curved  handle 
crossed  his  stomach. 

"  I  see  him,  I  get  him,  Hugh." 

He  and  the  doctor  and  Baroney  set  out,  first. 

"  Down  river ;  we'll  meet  you  down  the  Red 
183 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

River,  Baroney,  old  hoss,"  called  the  men.  "  Here's 
wishin'  you  fat  meat,  doctor,  sir — an'  the  same  for 
the  rest  of  us." 

"  I'll  follow  the  main  trail  in  two  days  and  catch 
up,"  the  lieutenant  had  promised.  "  But  nobody 
is  to  wait  for  me  until  meat  has  been  secured.  Do 
your  best,  doctor.  There  are  rations  for  only  forty- 
eight  hours." 

It  was  another  lean  day.  Although  the  three 
did  do  their  best,  scouting  in  advance  from  the  river 
to  the  hills,  and  exploring  the  side  draws,  oftentimes 
waist  deep  in  the  snow,  they  stirred  never  a  hoof  nor 
paw,  and  rarely  a  feather.  That  was  discouraging. 

Now  and  again  they  saw  the  main  party,  who  had 
crossed  the  river  and  were  toiling  along,  down  the 
other  flank  of  its  winding  course. 

"  Not  a  thing  sighted  by  us,  and  not  a  gunshot 
heard  from  those  other  fellows,"  the  doctor  sighed, 
at  evening.  "Well,  we'd  better  go  over  and  join 
them,  for  camp,  and  try  again  in  the  morning." 

They  made  for  the  fire  that  was  twinkling,  below 
and  beyond ;  crossed  the  river  upon  the  ice,  and 
arrived. 

"Any  luck,  sir?"  queried  Sergeant  Meek,  of 
the  doctor. 

"  None  to-day  sergeant ;  but  we  have  hopes  for 


to-morrow." 


184 


IS  IT  FOUND  AT  LAST? 

"  Yes,  sir.    The  same  here,  sir." 

"  So  ye  didn't  fetch  in  a  buffler  with  that  big 
pistol  ? "  John  Sparks  bantered,  of  Stub. 

"  To-morrow,"  answered  weary  Stub. 

"  To-morrow  is  a  grand  time,"  said  Baroney. 
"If  there  wasn't  any  to-morrow,  I  don't  know  what 
we'd  do." 

The  supper  to-night  was  a  scant  meal,  for  all: 
just  a  few  mouthfuls  of  dried  meat  and  a  handful 
of  parched  corn.  In  the  morning  the  doctor  decided 
briskly. 

"  You've  rations  for  only  to-day,  sergeant?  " 

"  Yes,  sir ;  and  scarce  that,  but  we  can  make  'em 
do." 

"  I  feel  sure  that  Baroney  and  the  boy  and  I 
will  find  game  before  night.  If  we  do,  we'll  come 
in  with  it.  But  you  keep  on,  as  Lieutenant  Pike 
ordered,  until  you  kill  meat  or  until  he  joins  you, 
and  never  mind  our  whereabouts.  We'll  take  care  of 
ourselves  somehow,  and  I  don't  propose  to  come  in 
unless  loaded." 

"You'll  likely  stay  out,  in  the  hills,  sir,  you 
mean?" 

"  That  depends  on  the  day's  luck,"  smiled  the 
doctor.  "  But  even  if  we  do,  we'll  be  no  worse 
off  than  Lieutenant  Pike  and  Miller  and  Mountjoy. 
We're  all  rationed  the  same,  and  there's  little  to 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

choose    between   camping    together    and    camping 
separately." 

But  even  Stub  felt  the  seriousness  of  it  when 
again  he  followed  the  doctor  and  Baroney,  for  the 
second  day's  hunt.  If  nothing  was  killed  to-day, 
then  to-morrow  they  would  begin  to  starve;  pretty 
soon  they  would  be  eating  the  horses,  and  next  their 
moccasins,  and  without  horses  and  moccasins  they 
would  die  before  getting  out  of  the  monutains. 


XIII 

MEAT  FOR  THE  CAMP 

BUFFALO  ! 

Stub  stared  hard.  He  scarcely  could  believe  his 
bleared,  aching  eyes.  Was  it  really  true  ?  Buffalo  ? 
Now  what  to  do? 

This  was  early  in  the  third  morning  after  leav- 
ing the  main  camp.  For  two  days  he  and  the  doctor 
and  Baroney  had  been  hunting,  hunting,  from  dawn 
to  dark ;  ranging  up  and  down,  among  the  hills  and 
draws,  and  wading  the  snow,  on  only  one  small  meal. 
In  fact,  they  practically  had  had  nothing  at  all  to 
eat,  in  forty-eight  hours.  Through  the  two  nights 
they  had  tended  fire  and  shiveringly  dozed,  without 
blankets,  in  the  best  spot  they  might  find,  where  they 
could  secure  a  little  protection  from  the  biting  wind. 

How  they  were  going  to  keep  on  living  if  they 
discovered  nothing  to  eat,  this  day,/he  did  not  know ; 
Baroney  did  not  know ;  the  doctor  hadn't  said.  But 
they  had  told  the  sergeant  not  to  expect  them  unless 
with  good  news ;  the  other  men  probably  were  famish- 
ing, too,  and  they  themselves  might  as  well  starve 
in  one  place  as  another. 

187 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

Full  of  aches  and  pains  (and  that  was  all!)  they 
had  passed  a  bad  night,  so  that  this  morning  they 
really  had  been  glad  to  stagger  up  and  out  again,  into 
the  bleak  whity-gray,  even  though  they  might  be 
starting  upon  only  another  long  day  of  fruitless 
tramping. 

Baroney  groaned. 

"  Ma  foi !  My  legs  move,  my  head  thinks,  but 
there  is  nothing  between.  I  have  no  stomach." 

"  We'll  find  meat  to-day.  Not  only  for  ourselves 
but  for  the  boys  in  camp,  remember, "/encouraged 
the  doctor.  "  They're  likely  depending  on  us,  for 
we've  heard  no  gunshots.  We  must  separate  and 
hunt  widely." 

They  had  trudged  forth,  before  sun-up.  They 
had  crossed  the  first  wooded  ridge,  to  the  next  little 
valley. 

"  Stub,  you  follow  up,  along  the  high  ground 
on  this  side,"  the  doctor  ordered.  "  Baroney  will 
take  the  middle.  I'll  take  the  farther  side.  Move 
slowly  and  all  together,  and  we'll  surely  start  some- 
thing. Head  off  anything  that  comes  your  way, 
Stub,  and  drive  it  down  to  us.  Don't  waste  the  load 
in  your  pistol." 

"  Yes,  I  will  drive,"  answered  Stub,  patiently. 

He  waited,  shivering,  until  Baroney  had  halted 
in  the  bottom,  and  the  doctor  had  toiled  clear  across 

1 88 


MEAT  FOR  THE  CAMP 

to  the  other  slope,  and  up.  Then  they  three  moved 
on  together — one  searching  either  flank,  the  third 
in  between. 

The  valley  was  not  wide.  Its  bottom  was  level 
and  open  except  for  the  snow-covered  brush ;  its  sides 
were  dotted  with  cedars  and  pines.  Keeping  near 
the  top  of  his  side,  so  as  to  drive  anything  down  hill, 
Stub  hunted  faithfully,  hoping,  too,  that  he  would 
hear  the  doctor  or  Baroney  shoot.  His  eyes  scanned 
every  foot  before  and  to  right  and  left,  seeking 
tracks.  Even  a  rabbit  would  be  welcomed — yet  he 
didn't  wish  to  spend  his  bullet  on  a  rabbit. 

He  saw  nothing  to  make  him  draw  his  pistol.  It 
weighed  heavily  and  rasped  his  stomach  and  thigh 
as  he  plodded  on. 

The  sun  was  about  to  rise  above  the  snowy  ridges 
on  the  east.  They  had  been  hunting  for  an  hour, 
at  least,  and  had  heard  never  a  sound.  Then  he 
reached  a  place  where  his  slope  broke  sharply  into 
a  side  valley.  A  fellow  always  expected  something, 
at  such  places.  So  he  stole  forward  cautiously ;  he 
came  to  a  ledge  of  rock,  and  peered  down.  What 
he  saw  instantly  almost  stopped  his  heart-beating, 
and  dazed  his  eyes  with  sudden  excitement. 

Buffalo !  Really  ?  Yes,  yes— buffalo !  He  was 
not  dreaming. 

It  was  more  of  a  basin  than  a  valley,  in  there : 
189 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

broadening  to  a  snug  cup  protected  by  rim-rock, 
just  back  of  the  opening  into  the  main  valley,  and 
thence  tapering  and  climbing  until  it  pinched  out, 
on  the  ridge.  A  few  leafless  aspens  (sign  of  water) 
and  sprawly  evergreens  grew  in  the  cup,  and  there 
was  marsh  grass,  in  weedy  clumps.  And  the 
buffalo. 

Two — three,  lying  down  and  comfortable,  like 
cattle,  their  legs  under  them.  The  snow  was  well 
trodden;  they  had  been  in  here  some  time. 

Now  what  to  do?  He  trembled,  and  thought 
his  best.  If  he  only  might  take  the  time  to  signal 
Baroney  and  the  doctor.  But  even  as  he  peered 
the  sun  flashed  up,  and  the  first  beams  streamed 
into  the  cup.  One  large  bull  suddenly  stirred,  and 
all  at  once  was  on  his  feet,  swaying  his  shaggy 
head  and  sniffing  the  air.  Was  it  the  sun,  or  did 
the  breeze  tell  him  something  ?  He  may  have  scented 
the  doctor,  or  Baroney,  or  Stub,  or  he  might  merely 
be  thinking  of  breakfast  and  the  day's  program. 

There !  The  second  buffalo  was  out  of  bed,  and 
imitating  the  first.  The  third  seemed  to  be  getting 
uneasy.  Stub  dared  not  delay,  to  signal.  His  eyes 
roved  rapidly.  He  was  too  far,  for  pistol  shooting. 
The  buffalo  might  only  start  to  graze — they  might 
start  to  travel,  warned  by  danger  smell — and  they 
were  as  likely  to  go  one  way  as  another.  He  must 

190 


MEAT  FOR  THE  CAMP 

get  down  in  behind  them  and  drive  them  out  where 
the  doctor  and  Baroney  would  see  them. 

He  drew  back,  and  crouching  scurried  on  a  half 
circuit,  to  slip  into  the  basin,  above  them.  He  struck 
a  little  ravine,  leading  down.  All  his  practice  at 
scouting  with  the  Pawnee  boys  stood  him  in  good 
stead,  now.  He  moved  fast  but  silently,  darting 
from  spot  to  spot,  stepping  with  care  and  listening 
for  alarm  sounds;  and  stealing  more  gently  as  he 
arrived  at  the  bottom,  where  the  ravine  ended  in  a 
cedar  and  a  shoulder  of  rock. 

The  upper  edge  of  the  basin  was  just  around 
that  corner.  He  planned  to  step  out,  into  sight.  The 
buffalo  would  run  in  the  other  direction,  and  the 
doctor  or  Baroney  might  be  able  to  head  them,  and 
kill  one  at  least ;  then  follow  and  maybe  kill  more. 

But  first  he  drew  his  big  pistol,  on  the  slim 
chance  of  a  sure  shot,  himself.  Gradually  he  thrust 
his  head  beyond  the  cedar  and  the  rock  shoulder — 
and  jerked  back  in  a  jiffy.  A  fourth  buffalo  was 
standing  there  almost  within  touch ! 

Stub's  heart  beat  furiously,  and  he  sank  trem- 
bling, to  think.  He  must  look  again;  and  he  did, 
as  gradually  as  a  timid  prairie-dog  emerging  from 
its  burrow. 

Wah!  It  was  a  cow,  turned  broadside  to  him, 
half,  dozing  as  she  bathed  in  the  sunshine. 

191 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

Now  he  must  steady  down,  and  slide  out  a  little 
farther,  for  a  sure  shot  He  huddled  back,  once 
more  to  take  breath.  He  examined  his  flint,  and 
opened  the  pan,  to  stir  the  caked  powder  of  the 
priming.  Then  with  both  hands  he  cocked  the  heavy 
hammer— click-dick !  The  noise  frightened  him, 
and  he  hoped  that  it  had  not  frightened  the  cow. 
Then  he  extended  the  pistol  in  front  of  him,  and 
began  to  follow  it  by  worming  on,  inch  by  inch, 
around  the  low-branching  cedar. 

Hoorah!  The  cow  was  still  there,  but  she  had 
heard  or  smelled.  Maybe  she  had  heard  the  click- 
click.  She  had  not  moved;  only,  her  head  was  up, 
and  she  was  gazing  with  her  head  turned  in  the 
direction  of  the  other  buffalo. 

He'd  better  shoot  as  quickly  as  possible.  An- 
other inch,  and  another,  he  squirmed,  for  right  posi- 
tion. Now!  She  was  about  fifteen  paces — not  so 
near  as  he  had  thought,  but  this  was  the  best  that 
he  might  do  with  any  safety.  So  he  leveled  the 
long-barreled  dragoon  pistol,  again  with  both  hands ; 
Aeld  breath  until  the  muzzle  seemed  to  be  pointing 
directly  in  line  with  a  spot  just  behind  her  fore 
shoulder — and  while  it  slightly  wavered  there,  he 
pressed  the  trigger. 

Bang!  The  pistol  well-nigh  jumped  from  his 
hands;  a  cloud  of  smoke  had  belched — and  dimly 

192 


MEAT  FOR  THE  CAMP 

seen  through  the  smoke,  by  his  watering  eyes,  the 
cow  had  given  a  great  leap  and  had  vanished. 

She  had  run  the  other  way,  down  the  basin.  Up 
Stub  leaped,  and  ran,  too.  The  basin  seemed  to  be 
still  echoing  with  the  report,  but  he  heard  the  thud 
and  clatter  of  hoofs,  also,  and  a  fear  that  he  had 
missed  her  made  his  heart  sick. 

He  panted  into  full  sight  of  the  little  basin  just 
in  time  to  see  a  half  score — no,  a  dozen  or  more  of 
the  burly  animals  pelting  through  for  the  other  end, 
to  gain  the  open  of  the  main  valley.  He'd  had  no 
idea  that  so  many  were  in  here.  They'd  been  hidden 
from  him,  the  most  of  them — lying  in  cosy  beds 
where  he'd  not  happened  to  look. 

Away  they  went,  jostling  and  stringing  out,  bolt- 
ing blindly.  One,  the  last  in  the  flight,  loped  pain- 
fully— fell  farther  and  farther  behind.  It  was  his 
cow !  He  had  hit  her,  and  hit  her  hard.  Hoorah ! 
He  darted  for  the  spot  where  she  had  stood.  He 
trailed  her  for  a  few  steps,  and  the  trampled  snow 
was  blotched  red.  Blood!  Hoorah!  He  ran  on, 
down  through  the  basin,  to  see  her  again.  Now 
Baroney  or  the  doctor  might  get  her,  because  she 
would  grow  weak. 

He  wondered  if  they  had  heard  him  shoot.  The 
basin  was  empty,  all  the  buffalo  had  charged  on  into 
the  valley — that  was  what  he  had  wished  them  to  do, 

13  193 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

and  maybe  he  had  killed  one  and  signaled,  besides. 
He  hoped  that  the  doctor  would  not  be  angry. 
Now  if  the  buffalo  only  turned  down  toward 
Baroney ! 

Hark !  Another  shot !  Somebody  out  there  had 
fired — Whang!  He  ran  faster — to  the  mouth  of 
the  basin — into  sight  of  the  main  valley — and  again, 
hoorah ! 

The  fleeing  buffalo  had  blundered  against 
Baroney.  He  had  been  not  far  outside ;  he  had  shot 
one — it  was  down,  in  the  snow ;  not  the  cow,  either, 
for  the  cow  was  down,  too — there  were  the  two 
black  spots,  motionless,  and  the  little  herd  were 
streaming  across  the  valley,  for  the  other  slope, 
with  Baroney  lumbering  after — and  yonder,  on  the 
slope,  the  doctor  was  plunging  toward  the  bottom, 
to  get  in  a  shot  also. 

Could  he  do  it?  Yes !  He  ran  quartering,  stum- 
bling and  lunging;  the  leading  buffalo  sensed  him, 
swerved,  they  all  swerved ;  he  knelt  and  aimed  and 
fired,  quickly — around  wheeled  the  buffalo,  again 
alarmed,  and  came  pelting  back  for  Stub's  side,  as 
if  to  escape  through  their  basin — but  one  lagged, 
wavered,  halted,  and  suddenly  collapsed.  That  made 
three ! 

The  remainder  of  the  herd  were  coming  straight 
for  Stub.  He  had  no  load  for  his  pistol ;  he  could 

194 


MEAT  FOR  THE  CAMP 

only  dance  and  wave  his  arms  and  yell,  to  stop  them. 
This  he  did.  Once  more  they  tacked ;  Baroney  had 
lain  flat,  hoping;  foolish  things,  they  tacked  almost 
for  him — wait— wait — aha !  His  gun  puffed  smoke, 
the  report  echoed  dully,  a  buffalo  had  jumped  high 
and  stiff-legged  and  Baroney  was  after  him,  loading 
on  the  run.  Down  pitched  the  buffalo.  That  made 
four! 

The  doctor  was  running  again,  but  the  rest  of  the 
buffalo  got  away,  up  the  valley.  All  right;  they  had 
left  plenty  of  meat.  Hoorah ! 

Stub  hastened  forward,  wild  with  joy.  The 
doctor  was  coming.  They  met  Baroney,  where  two 
carcasses — a  bull  and  Stub's  cow — were  lying  close 
together. 

"  Hurrah!  "  cheered  the  doctor. 

Baroney  capered — "  Hoozah !    Hoozah !  " 

"  Four !  One  to  me,  two  to  you — that's  good. 
And  what  about  this  other  ?  Who  killed  her ?  " 

"The  boy.  Oui!  I  think  he  killed  her,  with  that 
pistol,"  Baroney  jabbered.  "  I  hear  one  shot — bang ! 
I  do  not  know  where.  Then  the  buffalo  come  run- 
ning out.  And  before  I  can  shoot,  I  see  this  cow 
tumble  down,  and  die.  She  has  a  hole  in  her — a 
bullet  hole." 

"  Did  you  shoot  her,  Stub?    With  your  pistol?  " 

Stub  nodded. 

195 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

"  First  I  see  three.  Down  on  bottom.  They  act 
scared.  I  go  to  drive  them  out.  She  very  close. 
I  shoot  her.  She  run,  all  run,  I  run.  Then  I  hear 
shooting.  Baroney  get  one,  you  get  one,  Baroney  get 
'nother.  Now  lots  of  meat.  Hoorah !  " 

"The  meat!  The  meat!"  cried  Baroney,  as  if 
reminded  of  great  hunger.  Down  he  plumped,  dig- 
ging furiously  with  his  knife  and  tearing  with  his 
fingers.  He  wrested  out  a  strip  of  bloody  flesh  and 
began  to  chew  it  and  suck  it 

Stub,  seeing  red,  likewise  fell  to.  All  of  a  sud- 
den he  could  not  wait  longer. 

"  Here,  doctor  "  And  Baroney,  his  beard  stained 
wolfish,  passed  him  a  piece. 

But  the  doctor  straightened  up. 

"  That's  enough.  I  must  carry  the  news  to  the 
men.  You  two  stay  here  and  butcher  what  you  can 
till  horses  come  from  the  camp.  It  may  be  a  matter 
of  life  or  death  for  those  other  fellows.  We  ougnt 
to  get  this  meat  to  them  without  delay." 

And  he  was  away,  walking  fast  and  running 
down  through  the  valley,  for  the  river  beyond  and 
the  main  party  somewhere  along  it 

"He's  one  fine  man,"  gasped  Baroney,  gazing 
after.  "  We  think  only  of  our  stomach,  he  thinks 
of  those  others." 

They  worked  hard,  cutting  and  hacking  and  haul- 
196 


MEAT  FOR  THE  CAMP 

ing  before  the  carcasses  got  cold  and  the  hides  stiff. 
With  Baroney's  hatchet  they  cracked  a  marrow-bone 
apiece,  so  as  to  scoop  out  the  fatty  pith. 

Presently  the  sun  was  high  and  warming.  Two 
men  were  coming  afoot  up  the  valley.  They  brought 
no  horses 

"Miller  and  Mountjoy,  hein?"  Baroney  said, 
eyeing  them  as  they  drew  nearer.  "  Where  is  the 
lieutenant,  I  want  to  know  ?  " 

Terry  Miller  and  John  Mountjoy  they  were;  and 
they  staggered  and  stumbled  in  their  haste  at  sight  of 
the  meat. 

"  Did  you  lose  the  lieutenant?    What?  " 

"  No.  He's  gone  on  for  camp,  with  the  doctor. 
He  sent  us  in  here  to  eat.  Give  us  some  meat, 
quick." 

"  Nothing  but  one  turkey  and  a  hare  for  the 
three  of  us,  these  four  days  past,"  panted  Terry,  as 
he  and  John  sucked  and  gobbled.  "  And  in  the  last 
two  days  nothing  at  all." 

"  Go  far?  "  Stub  queried,  eager  to  know. 

"  Away  up,  twenty-five  miles  or  two  camps  above 
where  the  rest  o*  you  left  us.  Up  to  where  the  river 
petered  out  to  a  brook  betwixt  the  mountains.  Then 
we  turned  back  and  traveled  day  and  night  with  our 
clothes  froze  stiff  on  us,  and  our  stomachs  clean 
empty,  to  ketch  the  main  camp.  The  cap'n  was 

197 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

worrying  more  about  the  other  men  than  himself." 

"  And  sure,  when  we  met  the  doctor,  by  chance, 
with  news  of  this  meat,  the  little  cap'n  told  us  to 
come  in  and  eat,  but  he  wouldn't.  He  went  on— him 
and  the  doctor — hungry  as  he  was,  to  find  the  camp 
below,"  mumbled  John.  "  They'll  send  hosses.  How 
many  did  you  kill ?  Four?  " 

"  Four,"  assured  Baroney.  "  Stub  one,  the  doc- 
tor one,  I  myself  had  the  fortune  to  kill  two.  Stub, 
he  found  them;  but  it  was  the  good  God  who  put 
them  there,  waiting  for  us." 

"  I  suppose  we  might  have  a  bit  of  a  fire,  and 
eat  like  Christians,  whilst  waiting?  "  Terry  proposed 
wistfully. 

"  The  marrow  is  strong;  we  must  not  get  sick," 
Baroney  wisely  counseled.  "  Let  us  butcher,  and  be 
ready  for  the  horses;  and  to-morrow  we  will  all 
have  a  big  Christmas  dinner." 

"  To-morrow  Christmas  ? "  exclaimed  John. 
"  Right  you  are !  Hooray  for  Christmas ! " 

They  cheered  for  Christmas;  and  with  aching 
brain  Stub  puzzled  over  the  new  word. 

Toward  the  last  of  their  butchering  Corporal 
Jerry  Jackson  and  Hugh  Menaugh  arrived  with  two 
horses.  The  camp  was  famished,  the  lieutenant  and 
the  doctor  had  toiled  in,  and  now  everybody  there 

198 


MEAT  FOR  THE  CAMP 

was  waiting  for  the  buffalo  meat.  The  camp  had 
been  out  of  food  for  two  days. 

"  I  told  the  doctor  that  the  boy  an*  his  pistol 
would  fetch  him  luck,"  Hugh  declared.  "  An*  it 
surely  did.  Faith,  a  fine  little  hunter  you  be,  Stub, 
me  lad." 

They  loaded  the  horses,  at  full  speed,  and  made 
for  the  starving  camp.  It  was  a  joyous  place.  John 
Sparks  had  come  in  with  more  good  news — he  had 
discovered  another  buffalo  herd  and  had  killed  four, 
himself !  Men  and  horses  were  out,  to  get  the  meat. 

Now  with  eight  buffalo  on  hand,  Christmas  Eve 
was  to  be  celebrated  to-night,  and  Christmas  Day 
to-morrow.  They  were  American  feasts — feasts  for 
the  Spanish  and  French  and  all  white  people,  too, 
the  doctor  and  Sergeant  Bill  said.  Stub  had  heard 
the  names  before,  somewhere;  perhaps  from  the 
French  traders.  But  he  quit  thinking  and  bother- 
ing. He  was  an  American,  they  were  his  feasts  now ; 
Lieutenant  Pike  looked  happy,  and  that  was  enough. 


XIV 

A  TRAIL  OF  SURPRISES 

THE  lieutenant  had  explored  the  source  of  this 
Red  River  far  enough.  He  was  ready  to  march  on 
down,  for  the  plains  and  the  United  States  post  of 
Natchitoches  above  the  mouth  in  Louisiana.  Every- 
body was  glad. 

The  big  meals  of  buffalo  meat  had  made  several 
of  the  men,  and  Stub  also,  quite  ill ;  so  that  on  the 
day  after  Christmas  the  march  covered  only  seven 
miles.  The  tent  was  turned  into  a  hospital,  and  the 
lieutenant  and  the  doctor  slept  out  in  the  snow. 

The  Great  White  Mountains,  far  to  the  east,  had 
been  in  sight  from  high  ground ;  the  river  appeared 
to  lead  in  that  direction.  But  here  at  the  lower 
end  of  the  bottom-land  other  mountains  closed  in. 
The  river  coursed  through,  and  everybody  rather 
believed  that  by  following  it  they  all  would  come 
out,  in  two  or  three  days,  into  the  open. 

That  proved  to  be  a  longer  job  than  expected,  and 
the  toughest  yet.  The  river,  ice-bound  but  full  of  air- 
holes, sometimes  broadened  a  little,  and  gave  hope, 

but  again  was  hemmed  clear  to  its  borders  by  tre- 

200 


A  TRAIL  OF  SURPRISES 

mendous  precipices  too  steep  to  climb.  The  poor 
horses  slipped  and  floundered  upon  the  ke  and 
rocks;  in  places  they  had  to  be  unpacked  and  the 
loads  were  carried  on  by  hand. 

Soon  the  lieutenant  was  ordering  sledges  built, 
to  relieve  the  horses  of  the  loads;  men  and  horses 
both  pulled  them — and  now  and  then  sledge  and 
horse  broke  through  the  ice  and  needs  must  be 
hauled  out  of  the  water. 

Twelve  miles  march,  another  of  sixteen  miles, 
five  miles,  eight  miles,  ten  and  three-quarter  miles, 
about  five  miles — and  the  river  still  twisted,  an  icy 
trail,  deep  set  among  the  cliffs  and  pinnacles  and 
steep  snowy  slopes  that  offered  no  escape  to  better 
country. 

The  horses  were  so  crippled  that  some  could 
scarcely  walk;  the  men  were  getting  well  bruised, 
too;  the  dried  buffalo  meat  had  dwindled  to  a  few 
mouthfuls  apiece,  and  the  only  game  were  moun- 
tain sheep  that  kept  out  of  range.  The  doctor  and 
John  Brown  had  been  sent  ahead,  to  hunt  them  and 
hang  the  carcasses  beside  the  river,  for  the  party  to 
pick  up  on  the  way. 

From  camp  this  evening  the  lieutenant  and 
Baroney  climbed  out,  to  the  top,  in  order  to  see 
ahead.  They  came  down  with  good  news. 

"  We've  sighted  an  open  place,  before,"  said 

201 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

the  lieutenant,  gladly*  "  It's  not  more  than  eight 
miles.  Another  day's  march,  my  men,  and  I  think 
we'll  be  into  the  prairie  and  at  the  end  of  all  this 
scrambling  and  tumbling." 

That  gave  great  hope,  although  they  were  too 
tired  to  cheer. 

But  on  the  morrow  the  river  trail  fought  them 
harder  than  ever.  Toward  noon  they  had  gained 
only  a  scant  half  mile.  The  horses  had  been  falling 
again  and  again,  the  sledges  had  stuck  fast  on  the 
rocks  and  in  the  holes,  the  ice  and  snow  and  rocks 
behind  were  blood-stained  from  the  wounds  of  men 
and  animals. 

Now  they  had  come  to  a  narrow  spot,  where  a 
mass  of  broken  rocks,  forming  a  high  bar,  thrust 
itself  out  from  the  cliff,  into  the  stream,  and  where 
the  water  was  flowing  over  the  ice  itself.  The  horses 
balked  and  reared,  while  the  men  tugged  and  shoved. 

"  Over  the  rocks,"  the  lieutenant  ordered. 

That  brought  more  trouble.  Stub's  yellow  pony, 
thin  and  scarred  like  the  rest,  was  among  those  that 
still  carried  light  packs.  He  was  a  stout,  plucky 
pony — or  had  been.  Here  he  lost  heart,  at  last. 
His  hoofs  were  sore,  he  was  worn  out.  Terry 
Miller  hauled  at  his  neck-thong,  Stub  pushed  at  his 
braced  haunches.  The  line  was  in  a  turmoil,  while 

302 


BUT   STUB    NEVER   FELT   THE  FINAL   CRASH 


A  TRAIL  OF  SURPRISES 

everybody  worked ;  the  canyon  echoed  to  the  shouts 
and  blows  and  frenzied,  frightened  snorting. 

Suddenly  the  yellow  pony's  neck-thong  snapped 
he  recoiled  threshing,  head  over  heels,  before  Stul 
might  dodge  from  him;  and  down  they  went,  to- 
gether, clear  into  the  river.  But  Stub  never  felt  the 
final  crash.  On  his  way  he  saw  a  burst  of  stars, 
then  he  plunged  into  night  and  kept  right  on  plung- 
ing until  he  woke  up. 

He  had  landed.  No,  he  was  still  going.  That  is, 
the  snow  and  cliffs  at  either  side  were  moving,  while 
he  sat  propped  and  bewildered,  dizzily  watching 
them. 

His  head  throbbed.  He  put  his  hand  to  it,  and 
felt  a  bandage.  But  whose  bowed  back  was  that, 
just  before?  And  what  was  that  noise,  of  crunching 
and  rasping?  Ah!  He  was  on  a  sledge — he  was 
stowed  in  the  baggage  upon  a  sledge,  and  was  being 
hauled — over  the  ice  and  snow — through  the  can- 
yon— by — by 

Freegift  Stout!  For  the  man  doing  the  hauling 
turned  his  face,  and  was  Freegift  Stout ! 

Well,  well!  Freegift  halted,  and  let  the  sled 
run  on  to  him.  He  shouted  also ;  they  had  rounded 
a  curve  and  there  was  another  loaded  sled,  and  a 

man  for  it;  and  they,  too,  stopped. 

203 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

"  Hello.  Waked  at  last,  have  ye?  "  spoke  Free- 
gift,  with  a  grin. 

"  Yes,  I  guess  so."  Stub  found  himself  speak- 
ing in  a  surprisingly  easy  fashion.  A  prodigious 
amount  of  words  and  notions  were  whirling  through 
his  mind.  "  Where — where  am  I,  anyhow  ?  " 

"  Ridin'  like  a  king,  down  the  Red  River." 

"What  for?" 

"  So's  to  get  out  an'  reach  Natchitoches,  like  the 
rest  of  us." 

Stub  struggled  to  sit  up  farther.    Ouch ! 

"What's  your  name?"  he  demanded.  Then — 
"  I  know..  It's  Freegift  Stout.  That  other  man's 
Terry  Miller.  But  what's  my  name?  " 

"  Stub,  I  reckon." 

"  Yes ;  of  course  it  is.  That's  what  they  call  me. 
But  how  did  you  know?  HowM  you  know  I'm 
'Stub*  for  short?  I'm  Jack.  That's  my  regular 
name — Jack  Pursley.  I  got  captured  by  the  Utahs, 
from  my  father;  did  the  Pawnees  have  me,  too? 
Wish  I  could  remember.  I  do  sort  of  remember. 
But  I'm  a  white  boy.  I'm  an  American,  from  Ken- 
tucky. And  my  name's  Jack  Pursley — Stub  for 
short." 

Freegift  roundly  stared,  his  mouth  agape  amidst 

his  whiskers. 

204 


A  TRAIL  OF  SURPRISES 

"Hey!  Come  back  here,  Terry,"  he  called. 
And  Terry  Miller  came  back. 

"  That  crack  on  the  head's  set  him  to  talkin' 
good  English  an'  turned  him  into  a  white  lad,  sure/' 
quoth  Freegift.  "  Did  you  hear  him?  Ain't  that 
wonderful,  though  ?  His  name's  Jack  Pursley,  if  you 
please;  an'  he  answers  to  Stub,  jest  the  same — an'  if 
that  wasn't  a  smart  guess  by  John  Sparks  I'll  eat  my 
hat  when  I  get  one." 

"  I'll  be  darned,"  Terry  wheezed,  blinking  and 
rubbing  his  nose.  "Jack  Pursley,  are  you?  Then 
where's  your  dad  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know.  We  were  finding  gold  in  the 
mountains,  and  the  Indians  stole  me  and  hit  me  on 
the  head — and  I  don't  remember  everything  after 
that." 

"  Sho',"  said  Terry.    "  How  long  ago,  say?  " 

"  What  year  is  it  now,  please?  " 

"  We've  jest  turned  into  1807." 

"  I  guess  that  was  three  years  ago,  then." 

"  And  whereabouts  in  the  mountains?  " 

"  Near  the  head  of  the  Platte  River." 

"  For  gosh'  sake ! "  Freegift  blurted.  "  We  all 
jest  come  from  there'bouts.  But  you  didn't  say 
nothin',  an*  we  didn't  see  no  gold." 

"  I  didn't  remember." 

"  Well,  we  won't  be  goin*  back,  though ;  not  for 
205 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

all  the  gold  in  the  'arth.  Were  you  all  alone  up 
there?" 

"  My  father — he  was  there.  Some  other  men 
had  started,  but  they  quit.  Then  we  met  the  Indians, 
and  they  were  friendly  till  they  stole  me." 

"  Did  they  kill  your  father?  " 

"  I  don't  know." 

"That's  a  tall  story,"  Freegift  murmured,  to 
Terry;  and  tapped  his  head.  Evidently  they  didn't 
believe  it  "Where  do  you  think  you  are  now, 
then?  "  he  asked,  of  Stub. 

"  I  guess  I'm  with  Lieutenant  Pike.  But  where 
is  he?" 

"  Well,  we'll  tell  you.  You  see,  that  yaller  hoss 
an'  you  went  down  together.  You  got  a  crack  on 
the  head,  an'  the  hoss,  he  died.  We  had  to  shoot 
him.  But  we  picked  you  up,  because  you  seemed 
like  worth  savin'.  The  lieutenant  put  a  bandage 
on  you.  Then  he  took  the  rest  of  the  outfit  up  out 
the  canyon.  The  hosses  couldn't  go  on — there  wasn't 
any  footin'.  But  he  left  Terry  an'  me  to  pack  the 
dead  hoss's  load  an'  some  other  stuff  that  he  couldn't 
carry,  on  a  couple  of  sledges,  an'  to  fetch  them  an' 
you  on  by  river  an'  meet  him  below.  Understand  ?  " 

Stub  nodded.  How  his  brain  did  whirl,  trying 
to  patch  things  together!  It  was  as  if  he  had  wak- 

J06 


A  TRAIL  OF  SURPRISES 

ened  from  a  dream,  and  couldn't  yet  separate  the  real 
from  the  maybe  not. 

"  We'd  best  be  going  on,"  Terry  Miller  warned. 
"  We're  to  ketch  the  cap'n  before  night,  and  we're 
short  of  grub." 

So  the  sledges  proceeded  by  the  river  trail,  while 
Stub  lay  and  pondered.  By  the  pain  now  and  then 
in  his  head,  when  the  sledge  jolted,  he  had  struck 
his  scar;  but  somehow  he  had  a  wonderful  feeling 
of  relief,  there.  He  was  a  new  boy. 

The  trail  continued  as  rough  as  ever.  Most  of 
the  way  the  two  men,  John  and  Terry,  had  to  pull 
for  all  they  were  worth ;  either  tugging  to  get  their 
sledges  around  open  water  by  route  of  the  narrow 
strips  of  shore,  or  else  slipping  and  scurrying  upon 
the  snowy  ice  itself.  Steep  slopes  and  high  cliffs  shut 
the  trail  in,  as  before.  The  gaps  on  right  and  left 
were  icy  ravines  and  canyons  that  looked  to  be 
impassible. 

The  main  party  were  not  sighted,  nor  any  trace 
of  them.  Toward  dusk,  which  gathered  early,  Terry, 
ahead,  halted. 

"  It  beats  the  Dutch  where  the  cap'n  went  to," 
he  complained.  "  He  got  out,  and  he  hasn't  managed 
to  get  back  in,  I  reckon.  Now,  what  to  do?  " 

"  Only  thing  to  do  is  to  camp  an'  wait  till 
mornin',"  answered  Freegift.  "  An'  a  powerful  lone- 

207 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

some,  hungry  camp  it'll  be.    But  that's  soldierin'." 

"  Well,  the  orders  are  to  ketch  him— -or  to  join 
him  farther  down,  wherever  that  may  be,"  said 
Terry.  "  But  we  can't  travel  by  night,  in  here.  So 
we'll  have  to  camp,  and  foller  out  our  orders 
to-morrow." 

It  was  a  lonesome  camp,  and  a  cold  camp,  and 
a  hungry  camp,  here  in  the  dark,  frozen  depths  of 
the  long  and  silent  defile  cut  by  the  mysterious  river. 
They  munched  a  few  mouth fuls  apiece  of  dried  meat ; 
Stub  slept  the  most  comfortably,  under  a  blanket 
upon  the  sledge;  the  two  men  laid  underneath  a 
single  deer-hide,  upon  the  snow. 

They  all  started  on  at  daybreak.  Stub  was 
enough  stronger  so  that  he  sprang  off  to  lighten 
the  load — even  pushed — at  the  worst  places.  Indeed, 
his  head  was  in  first-class  shape;  the  scar  pained 
very  little.  And  he  had  rather  settled  down  to  being 
Jack  Pursley  again.  Only,  he  wished  that  he  knew 
just  where  his  father  was.  Dead?  Or  alive? 

It  was  slow  going,  to-day.  The  river  seemed  to 
be  getting  narrower.  Where  the  current  had  over- 
flowed and  had  frozen  again,  the  surface  was  glary 
smooth;  the  craggy  shore-line  (constantly  jutted  with 
sudden  points  and  shoulders  that  forced  the  sledges 
out  to  the  middle.  The  slopes  were  bare,  save  for 
a  sprinkling  of  low  bushes  and  solitary  pines,  cling- 

208 


A  TRAIL  OF  SURPRISES 

ing  fast  to  the  rocks.  Ice  glittered  where  the  sun's 
faint  rays  struck. 

This  afternoon,  having  worked  tremendously, 
they  came  out  into  the  lieutenant's  prairie.  At  least, 
it  might  have  been  the  prairie  he  had  reported — a 
wide  flat  or  bottom  where  the  hills  fell  back  and  let 
the  river  breathe. 

"  Hooray !  Here's  the  place  to  ketch  him," 
Freegift  cheered.  And  he  called :  "  See  any  sign 
o'  them,  Terry?" 

"  Nope." 

They  halted,  to  scan  ahead.  All  the  white  ex- 
panse was  lifeless. 

"  I  swan! "  sighed  Terry.  "  Never  a  sign,  the 
whole  day ;  and  now,  not  a  sign  here.  You'd  think 
this'd  be  the  spot  they'd  come  in  at,  and  wait  for  a 
fellow  or  else  leave  him  word." 

"  Yes,"  agreed  Freegift,  "  I  would  that.  Do  you 
reckon  they're  behind  us,  mebbe?  " 

"  How's  a  man  to  tell,  in  such  a  country  ?  "  Terry 
retorted.  "  They're  likely  tangled  up,  with  half  their 
hosses  down,  and  the  loads  getting  heavier  and  heav- 
ier. But  where,  who  knows?  We'll  go  on  a  piece, 
to  finish  out  the  day.  We  may  find  'em  lower  on, 
or  sign  from  'em.  If  not,  we'll  have  to  camp  again, 
and  shiver  out  another  night,  with  nothing  to  eat. 
Eh,  Stub?  At  any  rate,  orders  is  orders,  and  we're 
14  209 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

to  keep  travelling  by  river  until  we  join  'em.  If 
they're  behind,  they'll  discover  our  tracks,  like  as 
not,  and  send  ahead  for  us." 

"  Anyhow,  we're  into  open  goin*.  I'm  blamed 
glad  o'  that,"  declared  Freegift.  "  Hooray  for  the 
plains,  and  Natchitoches !  " 

"  Hooray  if  you  like,"  Terry  answered  back,  puf- 
fing. "  But  'tisn't  any  turnpike,  you  can  bet." 

Apparently  out  of  the  mountains  they  were; 
nevertheless  still  hard  put,  for  the  river  wound  and 
wound,  treacherous  with  boulders  and  air-holes, 
and  the  snow-covered  banks  were  heavy  with  wil- 
lows and  brush  and  long  grass. 

After  about  four  miles  Terry,  in  the  lead,  shouted 
unpleasant  news. 

"  We  might  as  well  quit.  We're  running  plumb 
into  another  set  o'  mountains.  I  can. see  where  the 
river  enters.  This  is  only  a  pocket." 

Freegift  and  Stub  arrived,  and  gazed.  The 
mountains  closed  in  again,  before;  had  crossed  the 
trail,  and  were  lined  up,  waiting.  Jagged  and  gleem- 
ing  in  the  low  western  sunlight,  they  barred  the  way. 

"  There's  no  end  to  'em,"  said  Terry,  ruefully. 
"  Heigh-hum.  'Pears  like  the  real  prairies  are  a  long 
stint  yet.  The  cap'n  will  be  sore  disappointed,  if  he 
sees.  I  don't  think  he's  struck  here,  though.  Any- 
how, we'll  have  to  camp — I'm  clean  tuckered;  and 

210 


A  TRAIL  OF  SURPRISES 

to-morrow  try  once  more,  for  orders  is  orders,  and 
I'm  right  certain  he'll  find  us  somewheres,  or  we'll 
find  him." 

So  they  made  camp.  Freegift  wandered  out, 
looking  for  wood  and  for  trails.  He  came  in. 

"  I  see  tracks,  Terry.  Two  men  have  been  along 
nere — white  men,  I  judge;  travellin'  down  river." 

"  Only  two,  you  say?  " 

"  Yes.    Fresh  tracks,  just  the  same." 

They  all  looked,  and  found  the  fresh  tracks  of 
two  men  pointing  eastward. 

"  I  tell  you !  Those  are  the  doctor  and  Brown 
hunting,"  Terry  proposed.  "  Wish  they'd  left  some 
meat.  But  we  may  ketch  'em  to-morrow.  Even 
tracks  are  a  godsend." 

They  three  had  eaten  nothing  all  day;  there 
was  nothing  to  eat,  to-night.  To  Stub,  matters 
looked  rather  desperate,  again.  Empty  stomach  and 
empty  tracks  and  empty  country,  winter-bound,  gave 
one  a  sort  of  a  hopeless  feeling.  He  and  Freegift 
and  Terry  trudged  and  trudged  and  trudged,  and 
hauled  and  shoved,  and  never  got  anywhere.  For  all 
they  knew,  they  might  be  drawing  farther  and  farther 
away  from  the  lieutenant.  But,  as  Terry  said, 
"  orders  were  orders." 

"  Well,  if  we  ketch  the  doctor  he'll  be  mighty  in- 
terested in  that  head  o'  yourn,"  Freegift  asserted,  to 

211 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

Stub.  "  He's  been  wantin'  to  open  it  up,  I  heard 
tell;  but  mebbe  that  yaller  hoss  saved  him  the 
trouble." 

"He'll  not  thank  the  hoss,"  laughed  Terry, 
grimly.  " He'd  like  to  have  done  the  job  himself! 
That's  the  doctor  of  it." 

Stub  privately  resolved  to  show  the  doctor  that 
there  was  no  need  of  the  "  job,"  now.  He  felt  fine, 
and  he  was  Jack  Pursley. 

Nothing  occurred  during  the  night;  the  false 
prairie  of  the  big  pocket  remained  uninvaded  except 
by  themselves.  They  lingered  until  about  ten  o'clock, 
hoping  that  the  main  party  might  come  in. 

"  No  use,"  sighed  Freegift.  "  We  may  be  losin' 
time;  like  as  not  losin'  the  doctor.  Our  orders  were, 
to  travel  by  river  till  we  joined  the  cap'n." 

With  one  last  survey  the  two  men  took  up  their 
tow-ropes  and,  Stub  ready  to  lend  a  hand  when 
needed,  they  plodded  on. 

The  tracks  of  the  doctor  and  John  Brown  led  to 
the  gateway  before.  The  space  for  the  river  lessened 
rapidly.  Soon  the  sides  were  only  prodigious  cliffs, 
straight  up  and  down  where  they  faced  upon  the 
river,  and  hung  with  gigantic  icicles  and  sheeted  with 
ice  masses.  The  river  had  dashed  from  one  side  to 
the  other,  so  that  the  boulders  were  now  spattered 
with  frozen  spray. 

212 


A  TRAIL  OF  SURPRISES 

The  tracks  of  the  doctor  and  John  Brown  had 
vanished;  being  free  of  foot,  they  might  clamber  as 
they  thought  best.  But  the  sledges  made  a  different 
proposition.  Sometimes,  in  the  more  difficult  spots 
amidst  ice,  rocks  and  water,  two  men  and  a  boy 
scarcely  could  budge  one. 

Higher  and  higher  towered  the  cliffs,  reddish 
where  bare,  and  streaked  with  motionless  waterfalls. 
The  sky  was  only  a  seam.  Far  aloft,  there  was 
sunshine,  and  the  snow  even  dripped;  but  down  in 
here  all  was  shade  and  cold.  One's  voice  sounded 
hollow,  and  echoes  answered  mockingly. 

The  dusk  commenced  to  gather  before  the  shine 
had  left  the  world  above.  Stub  was  just  about  tired 
out ;  the  sweat  had  frozen  on  the  clothes  of  the  two 
men,  and  their  beards  also  were  stiff  with  frost. 

Now  they  had  come  to  a  stopping-place.  There 
was  space  for  only  the  river.  It  was  crowded  so 
closely  and  piled  upon  itself  so  deeply,  and  was 
obliged  to  flow  so  swiftly  that  no  ice  had  formed 
upon  it  beyond  its  very  edges.  The  cliffs  rose 
abruptly  on  either  side,  not  a  pebble-toss  apart, 
leaving  no  footway. 

The  trail  had  ended. 

"  I  cry  '  Enough/  "  Terry  panted,  as  the  three 
peered  dismayed.  "  We  can't  go  on — and  we  can't 

213 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

spend  the  night  here,  either.    We'll  have  to  back- 
track and  find  some  way  out." 

"  The  doctor  an'  Brown  must  ha*  got  out  some- 
wheres,"  Freegift  argued.  "  They  never  passed  here. 
Let's  search  whilst  there's  light.  If  we  can  fetch 
out  we  may  yet  sight  'em,  or  the  cap'n.  An'  failin' 
better,  we  can  camp  again  an'  bile  that  deer-hide  for 
a  tide-me-over.  Some  sort  o'  chawin'  we  need  bad." 

"  Biled  deer-hide  for  supper,  then,"  Terry  an- 
swered. "  It'll  do  to  fool  our  stomicks  with.  But 
first  we  got  to  get  out  if  we  can." 

They  turned  back,  in  the  gloomy  canyon  whose 
walls  seemed  to  be  at  least  half  a  mile  high,  to  seek 
a  side  passage  up  and  out.  Freegift  was  ahead. 
There  were  places  where  the  walls  had  been  sundered 
by  gigantic  cracks,  piled  with  granite  fragments. 
Freegift  had  crossed  the  river,  on  boulders  and  ice 
patches,  to  explore  a  crack  opposite — and  suddenly 
a  shout  hailed  him. 

"Whoo-ee!    Hello!" 

He  gazed  quickly  amidst  his  clambering;  waved 
his  arm  and  shouted  reply,  and  hastened  over. 

"  Somebody !  "  Terry  exclaimed.  He  and  Stub 
ran  forward,  stumbling.  They  rounded  a  shoulder, 
and  joining  Freegift  saw  the  lieutenant.  In  the 
gloom  they  knew  him  by  his  red  cap  if  by  nothing 
else.  He  was  alone,  carrying  his  gun. 

214 


A  TRAIL  OF  SURPRISES 

"  I've  been  looking  for  you  men,"  he  greeted. 
"  You  passed  us,  somehow." 

11  Yes,  sir,"  Freegift  admitted.  "  An*  we've  been 
lookin'  for  you,  too,  sir.  We  didn't  know  whether 
you  were  before  or  behind." 

"  And  begging  your  pardon,  sir,  we're  mighty 
glad  to  see  you,"  added  Terry.  "  Are  the  men  all 
behind,  the  same  as  yourself,  sir?  " 

"  Part  of  them."  The  lieutenant  spoke  crisply. 
11  The  doctor  and  Brown  are  still  ahead,  I  think. 
I  haven't  laid  eyes  on  them.  You  three  were  next. 
The  rest  of  the  party  is  split.  From  the  prairie 
back  yonder  I  detached  Baroney  and  two  men  to 
take  the  horses  out,  unpacked,  and  find  a  road  for 
them.  We  have  lost  several  animals  by  falls  upon 
the  rocks,  and  the  others  were  unable  to  travel  far- 
ther by  river.  The  remaining  eight  men  are  coming 
on,  two  by  two,  each  pair  with  a  loaded  sledge. 
I  have  preceded  them,  hoping  to  overtake  you.  The 
command  is  pretty  well  scattered  out,  but  doing  the 
best  it  can."  His  tired  eyes  scanned  Stub.  "  How 
are  you,  my  brave  lad  ?  " 

"  All  right,  sir.  But  my  name's  Jack  Pursley, 
now.  That  knock  I  got  made  me  remember." 

"What!" 

"You  see,  sir,"  Freegift  explained  in  haste,  and 
rather  as  if  apologizing  for  Stub's  answer,  "  when 

215 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

he  come  to  after  that  rap  on  the  head  he  was  sort 
o'  bewildered  like;  an'  ever  since  then  he's  been 
claimin'  that  he's  a  white  boy,  name  o'  Pursley,  from 
Kaintuck,  an*  was  stole  from  his  father,  by  the 
Injuns,  up  in  that  very  Platte  River  country  where 
we  saw  all  them  camp  sign." 

"Oh!"  uttered  the  lieutenant.  "You  were 
there?  How  many  of  you?  All  white?  Where's 
your  father?  How  long  ago?  " 

"  About  three  years,  I  think,"  Stub  stammered. 
"  Just  we  two,  sir.  We  were  hunting  and  trading 
on  the  plains,  with  some  Kiowas  and  Comanches, 
and  the  Sioux  drove  us  into  the  mountains.  Then  we 
joined  the  Utahs,  and  after  a  while  they  stole  me. 
They  hit  me  on  the  head  and  I  forgot  a  lot  of  things 
— and  I  don't  know  where  my  father  is,  sir." 

"  Hah !  I  thought  we  were  the  first  white  men 
there/'  ejaculated  the  lieutenant.  "  The  first  Amer- 
icans, at  least.  It's  a  pity  you  didn't  come  to  before. 
You  might  have  given  us  valuable  information." 

"  He  says  they  found  gold  in  that  Platte  country, 
sir,"  said  Terry. 

"Yes?  Pshaw!  But  no  matter  now.  We'll  pur- 
sue that  subject  later.  First,  we  must  get  out  of  this 
canyon.  You  discovered  no  passage  beyond?" 

"  No,  sir.    Never  space  to  set  a  foot." 

"  Have  you  any  food?  " 

216 


A  TRAIL  OF  SURPRISES 

"  Had  none  for  two  days,  sir.  We  were  think- 
ing of  biling  a  deer-hide  for  our  supper." 

"You're  no  worse  off  than  the  others.  The 
whole  column  is  destitute  again,  but  the  men  are 
struggling  bravely,  scattered  as  they  may  be.  The 
doctor  and  Brown  came  this  way.  You  haven't 
sighted  them?" 

"  No,  sir ;  only  their  tracks,  back  a  piece." 

"  Then  they  got  out,  somehow.  We  must  find 
their  trail  before  dark,  and  follow  it  up  top,  where 
there's  game.  Search  well ;  our  comrades  behind  are 
depending  on  us." 

They  searched  on  both  sides  of  the  canyon. 
Stub's  Indian-wise  eyes  made  the  discovery — a  few 
scratches  by  hands  and  gun-stocks,  in  a  narrow 
ravine  whose  slopes  were  ice  sheeted.  That  was 
the  place. 

They  all  hurried  to  the  sledges,  took  what  they 
might  carry,  and  clawing,  slipping,  clinging,  com- 
menced to  scale  the  ravine.  It  was  a  slow  trail,  and 
a  danger  trail,  but  it  led  them  out,  to  a  flat,  cedar- 
strewn  top,  where  daylight  still  lingered. 

"  The  doctor  and  Brown  have  been  here,"  panted 
the  lieutenant.  "  Here  are  their  tracks." 

They  followed  the  tracks  a  short  distance,  and 
brought  up  at  camp  sign.  Evidently  the  doctor  and 
Brown  had  stopped  here,  the  night  before;  had  killed 

217 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

a  deer,  too — but  there  was  nothing  save  a  few  shreds 
of  hide. 

"  The  birds  and  beasts  have  eaten  whatever  they 
may  have  left,"  spoke  the  lieutenant.  "  Too  bad, 
my  lads.  However,  we're  out,  and  we'll  make  shift 
some  way.  Fetch  up  another  load,  while  I  hunt." 

Out  he  went,  with  his  gun.  They  managed  to 
bring  up  another  load  from  the  sledges.  They  heard 
a  gunshot. 

"  Hooray !    Meat  for  supper,  after  all." 

But  when  he  returned  in  the  darkness  he  was 
empty-handed. 

"  I  wounded  a  deer,  and  lost  him,"  he  reported 
shortly;  and  he  slightly  staggered  as  he  sank  down 
for  a  moment.  "  We  can  do  no  more  to-night. 
We'll  melt  snow  for  drinking  purposes ;  but  the  deer- 
hide  is  likely  to  make  us  ill,  in  our  present  condition. 
We'll  keep  it,  and  to-morrow  we'll  have  better  luck." 

So  with  a  fire  and  melted  snow  they  passed  the 
night.  Nobody  else  arrived.  The  doctor  and  Brown 
seemed  to  be  a  day's  march  ahead;  Baroney  and 
Hugh  Menaugh  and  Bill  Gordon  were  wandering 
with  the  horses  through  this  broken  high  country ; 
and  the  other  eight  were  toiling  as  best  they  could, 
with  the  sledges,  in  separate  pairs,  seeking  a  way  out 
also. 

The  lieutenant  started  again,  early  in  the  morn- 


A  TRAIL  OF  SURPRISES 

ing,  to  find  meat  for  breakfast.  They  went  down 
into  the  canyon,  to  get  the  rest  of  the  loads,  and 
the  sledges — and  how  they  managed,  with  their  legs 
so  weary  and  their  stomachs  so  empty,  Stub  scarcely 
knew. 

They  heard  the  lieutenant  shoot  several  times,  in 
the  distance;  this  helped  them.  He  rarely  missed. 
But  he  came  into  camp  with  nothing,  and  with  his 
gun  broken  off  at  the  breech — had  wounded  deer, 
had  discovered  that  his  gun  was  bent  and  shot 
crooked — then  had  fallen  and  disabled  it  completely. 

He  was  exhausted — so  were  the  others;  yet  he 
did  not  give  up.  He  rested  only  a  minute.  Then 
he  grabbed  up  the  gun  that  had  been  stowed  among 
the  baggage.  It  was  only  a  double-barreled  shot- 
gun, but  had  to  do. 

"  I'll  try  again,  with  this,"  he  said.  "  You  can  go 
no  further;  I  see  that.  Keep  good  heart,  my  lads, 
and  be  sure  that  I'll  return  at  best  speed  with  the 
very  first  meat  I  secure." 

"  Yes,  sir.  We'll  wait,  sir.  And  good  luck 
to  ye,"  answered  Terry. 

Sitting  numb  and  lax  beside  the  baggage,  they 
watched  the  lieutenant  go  stumbling  and  swerving 
among  the  cedars,  until  he  had  disappeared. 

"A  great-hearted  little  officer,"  Freegift  re- 
marked. "Myself,  I  couldn't  take  another  step. 

219 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

I'm  clean  petered  out,  at  last.  But  him — away  he 
goes,  never  askin'  a  rest." 

"  And  he'll  be  back.  You  can  depend  on  that," 
put  in  Terry.  "  Yes.  He'll  not  be  thinking  of  him- 
self. He's  thinking  mainly  on  his  men.  He'll  be 
back  with  the  meat,  before  he  eats  a  bite." 

They  heard  nothing.  The  long  day  dragged; 
sometimes  they  dozed — they  rarely  moved  and  they 
rarely  spoke;  they  only  waited.  Up  here  it  was  very 
quiet,  with  a  few  screaming  jays  fluttering  through 
the  low  trees.  Stub  caught  himself  nodding  and 
dreaming:  saw  strange  objects,  grasped  at  meat,  and 
woke  before  he  could  eat.  He  wondered  if  Freegift 
and  Terry  saw  the  same. 

The  sun  set,  the  air  grew  colder. 

"  Another  night,"  Freegift  groaned.  "  He's  not 
comin'.  Now  what  if  he's  layin'  out  somewheres, 
done  up ! " 

"If  he's  still  alive  he's  on  his  feet,  and  seeking 
help  for  us,"  Terry  asserted.  "  He  said  to  wait  and 
he'd  come.  You  can  depend  on  him.  Orders  be 
orders.  He  found  us,  below,  and  he'll  find  us  here." 

"  We've  got  to  suck  deer-hide,  then,"  announced 
Freegift.  "  It  may  carry  us  over." 

They  managed  to  arouse  themselves;  half  boiled 
strips  of  deer-hide  in  a  kettle  of  snow-water,  and 

220 


A  TRAIL  OF  SURPRISES 

chewed  at  the  hairy,  slimy  stuff.  But  they  couldn't 
swallow  it. 

"Oh,  my!"  Terry  sighed.  "  Tain't  soup  nor 
meat,  nor  what  I'd  call  soldiers'  fare  at  all.  We  had 
hard  times  before,  up  the  Mississippi  with  the  left'- 
nant;  but  we  didn't  set  teeth  to  this.  What'd  I  ever 
enlist  for?" 

"  The  more  I  don't  know,"  answered  Freegift. 
"  But  stow  one  good  meal  in  us  an'  we'd  enlist  over 
again,  to  foller  the  cap'n  on  another  trip." 

Terry  tried  to  grin. 

"  I  guess  you're  right  But,  oh  my!  Down  the 
Red  River,  heading  for  white  man's  country,  is  it? 
Then  where  are  we?  Nowhere  at  all,  and  like  to 
stay." 

Through  the  gnarled  cedars  beside  the  mighty 
canyon  the  shadows  deepened.  The  mountain  ridges 
and  peaks,  near  and  far,  surrounding  the  lone  flat, 
swiftly  lost  their  daytime  tints  as  the  rising  tide  of 
night  flowed  higher  and  higher.  And  soon  it  was 
dark  again. 

Now  they  must  wait  for  another  morning  as 
well  as  for  the  lieutenant. 

They  had  already  sickened  of  the  deer-hide,  and 
could  not  touch  it  again.  So  the  morning  was  break- 
f astless.  The  sun  had  been  up  only  a  few  minutes, 

221 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

and  Stub  was  drowsing  in  a  kind  of  stupor,  when 
he  heard  Freegift  exclaim: 

"He's  comin',  boys!  Here  comes  the  cap'n! 
Say !  Don't  I  see  him — or  not?  " 

"There's  two  of  'em!"  cried  Terry.  "He's 
found  company.  No!  That  ain't  the  cap'n.  It's 
somebody  else.  But  our  men,  anyhow." 

Two  men  afoot  were  hastening  in  through  the 
cedars,  along  the  canyon  rim.  They  carried  pack- 
ages— meat!  They  were  Hugh  Menaugh  and  Bill 
Gordon.  Hooray ! 

"Hello  to  you!" 

"  Yes,  we're  still  here,"  replied  Terry.  "  And 
if  you've  fetched  anything  to  eat,  out  with  it  quick. 
Where's  the  cap'n?  Did  you  see  him?  " 

Hugh  and  Bill  busied  themselves. 

"  Yes,  we  met  up  with  him  last  evening  below, 
down  river.  He  hadn't  come  back  to  you,  'cause  he 
hadn't  killed  anything.  But  Baroney  and  us  were 
packin'  buffalo  meat  and  deer  meat  both,  and  he  sent 
us  two  out  to  find  you  first  thing  this  mornin',  soon 
as  'twas  light  enough  to  s'arch.  After  you've  fed, 
we'll  help  you  on  to  camp." 

"Who  else  is  there?" 

"  Just  the  cap'n  and  Baroney,  but  they're  ex- 
pectin*  the  doctor  and  Brown.  Them  two  are  some- 
wheres  in  the  neighborhood.  The  cap'n  fired  a  gun 

222 


A  TRAIL  OF  SURPRISES 

as  signal  to  'em.    We'll  have  to  look  for  the  other 
fellers." 

"  What  kind  of  a  camp,  an*  whereabouts?  "  Free- 
gift  asked,  as  he  and  Terry  and  Stub  greedily 
munched. 

"  Oh,  a  good  camp,  in  the  open,  not  fur  from 
the  river." 

Hugh  and  Bill  acted  oddly — with  manner  mys- 
terious as  if  they  were  keeping  something  back. 
After  the  meal,  Hugh  opened  up. 

"  Now  that  you've  eaten,  guess  I'll  tell  you  what's 
happened,"  he  blurted.  "  You'll  know  it,  anyhow." 

"  Anybody  dead?    Not  the  cap'n !  " 

"No.  Nothing  like  that.  But  this  ain't  the 
river." 

"Ain't  the  Red  River?" 

"  Nope." 

The  three  stared,  dazed. 

"  What  river  might  it  be,  then?  "  gasped  Free- 
gift 

"  The  Arkansaw  ag*in.  An'  camp's  located  on 
that  very  same  spot  in  the  dry  valley  where  we  struck 
north  last  December,  scarce  a  month  ago !  "  * 

*  That  was  the  remarkable  and  disappointing  fact.  From 
the  heads  of  the  Platte  River  they  simply  had  passed  south- 
westward  to  the  head  of  the  Arkansas,  had  fought  their  way 
down  through  the  Grand  Canyon  of  the  Arkansas  to  the  Royal 
Gorge,  and  crossing  around  this  were  completing  a  big  circle 
to  the  Canon  City  region  again. 

223 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

"It's  certainly  hard  on  the  little  cap'n,"  Bill 
added.  "Yesterday,  his  worst  day  of  all,  when 
near  dead  he  made  out  and  espied  the  landmarks,  was 
his  birthday,  too." 

"What's  the  date?"  Terry  queried.  "I've 
forgot." 

"  Fifth  o'  January.  To-day's  the  sixth.  It  was 
December  10  when  we  camped  yonder  before." 


XV 

NOT  YET  DEFEATED 

HELPED  by  Hugh  Menaugh  and  Bill  Gordon  they 
might  now  travel  on  for  the  lieutenant's  camp. 
They  had  to  cross  several  gulches  and  one  or  two 
ridges;  then  they  came  out  into  view  of  the  dry 
valley,  at  the  foot  of  which  the  Arkarisaw  issued 
from  the  mountains,  to  course  eastward  through 
the  foothills  and  down  to  the  plains  far  beyond. 

It  was  the  same  valley.  They  might  see  again 
the  Grand  Peak,  distant  in  the  north,  and  mark  the 
line  of  the  river,  nearer  in  the  south.  From  the 
ridges  they  had  been  enabled  to  sight  the  Great 
Snow  Mountains,  also  in  the  south  and  much  far- 
ther than  the  Grand  Peak  in  the  opposite  direction* 
Yes,  this  was  the  Arkansaw,  and  the  lieutenant 
had  missed  his  guess  by  a  wide  margin. 

He  was  waiting  at  the  camp.  He  greeted  them 
kindly,  but  was  haggard  and  seemed  much  cut  up 
over  the  result  of  all  his  hard  marches.  No  one 
could  resist  being  sorry  for  him. 

The  doctor  and  John  Brown  were  here,  too. 
They  had  brought  in  six  deer,  so  that  now  there  was 
plenty  of  meat  on  hand. 

It  was  two  more  days  before  the  last  of  the 
is  225 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

men  had  straggled  in.  Meanwhile  the  doctor  espe- 
cially had  been  interested  in  the  new  "  Jack  Pursley," 
otherwise  Stub;  had  examined  his  head,  and  to- 
gether with  the  lieutenant  had  asked  him  questions. 
But  as  Stub  stuck  to  his  story,  they  had  to  accept 
it;  appeared  rather  to  believe  it — the  doctor  in 
particular. 

Considerable  of  their  talk,  between  themselves, 
Stub  did  not  understand.  There  was  something 
about  "  removal  of  pressure,"  "  resumption  of  activ- 
ity," "  clearing  up  of  brain  area,"  and  so  forth,  which 
really  meant  nothing  to  Stub,  except  that  now  he 
knew  who  he  was  and  the  spot  under  his  scar  no 
longer  burned  or  weighed  like  lead. 

If  he  might  only  find  his  father,  whose  name, 
he  remembered,  was  James,  and  if  the  lieutenant 
might  find  the  Red  River  after  all,  then  he  would 
be  perfectly  happy. 

The  lieutenant  acted  somewhat  worried.  He  did 
not  know  quite  what  to  do  next.  He  did  not  like 
to  waste  time ;  but  instead  of  having  found  the  Red 
River,  after  a  month  of  search  which  had  lost  him 
horses  and  crippled  others  and  almost  had  lost  him 
men  also,  here  he  was  with  nothing  gained  except 
a  little  information  about  the  mountain  country 
north. 

But  he  was  not  a  man  to  shilly-shally.  He  and 
the  doctor,  and  sometimes  Baroney,  talked  earnestly 

226 


NOT  YET  DEFEATED 

together;  on  the  day  after  the  last  of  the  squads 
had  arrived,  and  when  everybody  had  eaten  well 
and  had  rested,  he  called  a  council. 

"  I  have  decided  to  make  another  attempt,  men," 
he  said.  "We  are  soldiers,  and  our  duty  to  our 
orders  and  our  Flag  demands  that  we  do  not  admit 
defeat  The  thought  of  defeat  is  unworthy  of  brave 
men.  It  is  far  better  to  die  with  honor,  in  the  knowl- 
edge that  we  have  done  our  utmost,  than  to  live  as 
cowards  and  weaklings.  Fortune  has  been  trying 
us  out,  but  she  will  not  find  us  lacking.  We  have 
explored  to  the  north,  and  we  know  that  the  Red 
River  does  not  lie  there.  That  much  has  been 
accomplished,  and  not  in  vain,  for  we  have  made 
important  discoveries  and  greatly  extended  the  Gov- 
ernment's knowledge  of  the  sources  of  the  Platte 
and  the  Arkansaw  Rivers.  It  will  be  impossible 
to  travel  onward  with  the  horses.  We  have  lost  a 
number  of  them,  and  the  remainder  are  unfit.  So  I 
propose  to  stay  here  a  few  days,  in  order  to  erect  a 
block-house  and  gather  meat.  Then  I  shall  leave 
the  horses,  and  the  useless  baggage,  with  two  men 
in  charge ;  and  with  the  rest  of  you  shall  strike  south- 
ward to  cross  the  next  divide,  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
Great  White  Mountains,  where,  I  am  positive,  we 
shall  emerge  upon  the  head  streams  of  the  Red 
River.  We  have  demonstrated  the  fact  that  the 
Red  River  can  lie  only  in  that  direction.  From  there 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

we  will  send  back  for  the  horses,  which  by  that 
time  will  be  recovered;  and  we  will  descend  along 
the  river  to  the  civilization  of  pur  own  people  and 
the  just  reward,  I  trust,  of  a  Country  appreciative 
of  your  efforts." 

Sergeant  Meek  faced  the  men  and  flourished 
his  lean  arm. 

"  Three  cheers  for  the  cap'n  and  the  Red  River, 
boys !  Hooray !  Hooray !  Hooray ! " 

They  all  spent  the  next  four  days  in  building  the 
block-house  with  logs,  and  in  hunting.  A  good 
pasture  was  found,  for  the  wretched  horses.  John 
Sparks  made  a  new  stock  for  the  lieutenant's  broken 
gun. 

Baroney  and  Pat  Smith  were  to  stay  here.  Al- 
though a  great  deal  of  the  baggage,  including  the 
lieutenant's  own  trunk  with  his  "  chief's  "  uniform, 
was  left  also,  what  with  the  ammunition  and  axes 
and  spades,  and  the  presents  in  case  the  Comanches 
or  other  Indians  should  be  met,  and  the  meat,  the 
lieutenant  and  the  doctor  and  the  eleven  men  carried 
each  seventy  pounds,  weighed  out  equally,  and  Stub 
himself  had  a  pack. 

Followed  by  a  good-luck  cheer  from  Baroney 
and  Pat,  they  marched  out  from  the  block-house  on 
the  morning  of  January  14,  southward  bound  across 
•  •  :•_  '  ..  228 


NOT  YET  DEFEATED 

the  Arkansaw,  to  find  the  Red  River  down  in  the 
region  of  the  Great  White  Mountains. 

The  first  day  they  marched  thirteen  miles;  the 
doctor  killed  a  deer.  The  second  day  they  marched 
nineteen  miles,  up  along  a  stream  that  opened  a 
way  for  them  to  the  mountains ;  the  lieutenant  and 
the  doctor  and  John  Sparks  each  killed  a  deer.  On 
the  third  day  they  marched  up  the  same  stream, 
eighteen  miles,  in  a  snowstorm;  and  nobody  killed 
anything.  So  to-night  they  pretty  well  finished 
their  meat.  Travelling  afoot  in  winter  was  hungry 
work,  and  they  could  carry  only  a  little  at  a  time. 

On  the  fourth  day  they  marched  twenty-eight 
miles — and  a  bad  day  it  proved  to  be.  The  Great 
White  Mountains  had  been  getting  nearer,  at  this 
end — their  upper  end.  They  formed  a  tremendous 
snowy  chain  stretching  northwest  and  southeast. 
The  stream  came  down  from  them,  and  they  were 
about  to  bar  the  trail.  Upon  the  east  there  were 
lesser  mountains.  But  no  Red  River  flowed  in  this 
broad  trough  between  the  two  ranges;  its  streams 
fed  the  Arkansaw  River;  therefore  the  Red  River 
must  lie  upon  the  farther,  or  western  side,  of  the 
Great  White  range.* 

*  These  Great  White  Mountains  of  Lieutenant  Pike  are 
the  Sangre  de  Cristo  Range  of  Southern  Colorado.  They 
extend  from  the  Arkansas  River  above  the  Grand  Canyon  clear 

229 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

The  mountains  seemed  to  rise  from  a  bare  prairie 
which  grew  no  wood.  The  lieutenant  had  left  the 
stream,  so  as  to  aim  more  directly  for  a  low  place 
in  the  range ;  but  he  was  not  to  cross,  to-day.  The 
range  was  farther  than  it  looked  to  be.  The  sun 
set — and  here  they  were,  in  the  cold  open,  without 
wood  or  water  either,  or  a  bite  to  eat. 

"  There's  timber  at  the  base  of  those  first  slopes/' 
he  said.  "  We'll  have  to  push  on,  men,  until  we 
reach  it  The  night  will  be  too  cold  for  existing 
with  no  fires.'1 

Suddenly  they  were  barred  by  the  creek,  and 
needs  must  ford  it  through  ice  that  broke  under 
their  moccasins.  It  was  long  after  dark,  and  was 
stinging  cold,  when  they  arrived  at  the  trees.  The 
men  stumbled  wearily ;  Stub  could  not  feel  his  feet  at 
all.  Nobody  had  complained,  though — but  when 
the  fires  had  been  built  and  they  all  started  to  thaw 
themselves  out,  the  doctor  found  that  nine  pairs  of 

into  New  Mexico,  and  arc  a  noble  snowy  range  indeed.  The 
early  Spanish  explorers  from  the  south  named  them  Sangre  de 
Cristo,  or  Blood  of  Christ,  because  when  first  sighted  they 
were  bathed  red  in  the  reflection  from  a  New  Mexico  sunset. 
And  this  frequently  is  their  sunset  coloring  today.  From  the 
block-house  beyond  present  Canon  City  north  of  the  Arkansas 
River  the  Pike  men  had  marched  south  across  the  river,  and 
probably  had  followed  up  Grape  Creek,  which  descends  from 
the  east  slope  of  the  Sangre  de  Cristo— the  Great  White 
Mountains. 

230 


NOT  YET  DEFEATED 

feet  had  been  frozen,  among  the  men,  with  Stub's 
pair  to  be  included. 

He,  and  the  lieutenant,  Sergeant  Meek  and  Terry 
Miller  were  the  only  ones  to  have  escaped!  John 
Sparks  and  young  Tom  Dougherty  were  the  worst 
off.  Their  feet  were  solid  white  to  their  ankles. 
Hugh  Menaugh  and  Jake  Carter  were  badly  off,  too. 
The  doctor  did  his  best — everybody  rubbed  hard  with 
snow,  and  several  groaned  from  the  pain ;  but  there 
was  nothing  to  eat  and  the  thermometer  dropped 
to  more  than  eighteen  degrees  below  zero  or  freezing. 

With  cold,  hunger  and  aching  feet  it  was  a  hard 
night.  The  lieutenant  sent  Sergeant  Meek  and  Terry 
out  early  in  the  morning,  to  hunt  in  one  direction; 
he  and  the  doctor  made  ready  to  hunt  in  another. 

"  Do  the  best  you  can,  lads,"  they  encouraged, 
as  they  set  forth.  "  We've  all  been  in  tight  places 
before,  and  have  come  out  safely.  Wait  now  in 
patience,  and  you  shall  have  the  first  meat  that's 
killed." 

It  was  another  long  day :  a  cold,  bleak  day  for 
this  open  camp  on  the  edge  of  the  snow-laden  pines 
and  cedars,  with  the  Great  White  Mountains  over- 
looking, on  the  one  hand,  as  far  as  eye  might  see, 
and  the  wide  prairie  bottoms  stretching  lone  and 
lifeless  on  the  other  hand. 

Stub's  feet  were  swollen,  puffy  and  tender,  but 
331 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

he  could  walk.  He  and  Corporal  Jerry  Jackson  and 
Alex  Roy  managed  to  keep  the  fires  going.  John 
Sparks  and  Tom  Dougherty  lay  suffering  until  the 
sweat  stood  on  their  foreheads.  Their  feet  seemed 
to  be  turning  black,  and  were  alive  with  sharp  pains. 

"  Sure,  we're  like  never  to  walk  ag'in,  Tom," 
John  moaned.  "  Our  country '11  owe  us  each  a  pair 
o'  feet." 

"  I  know  that,  John.  But  what'll  we  do  wid 
those  we  have?  That's  what's  botherin'  me.  Tis 
cruel  hard." 

"  'Tis  harder  on  you  than  on  me,  lad,"  John 
declared.  "  For  you're  young.  An'  still,  I'd  like 
to  do  a  bit  more  marchin',  myself." 

They  heard  never  a  sound  from  the  hunters,  all 
day.  At  dark  the  sergeant  and  Terry  Miller  came  in, 
completely  tuckered.  They  had  not  fired  a  shot; 
had  seen  no  game,  nor  seen  the  lieutenant  and  the 
doctor,  either. 

"We'll  have  to  pull  our  belts  in  another  notch, 
boys,"  quoth  the  sergeant.  "  And  trust  to  them 
other  two.  Had  they  found  meat,  they'd  be  in. 
If  they  don't  come  to-night,  they'll  come  to-morrow. 
'Tis  tough  for  you,  here  by  the  fire;  but  it's  tougher 
on  them,  out  yonder  somewheres  in  the  cold,  with 
their  hearts  aching  at  the  thought  of  us  waiting  and 
depending  on  'em.  Jest  the  same,  I'd  rather  be  any 

232 


NOT  YET  DEFEATED 

one  of  us,  in  our  moccasins  as  we  are,  than  Henry 
Kennerman  serving  time  in  his  boots." 

Henry  Kennerman  was  a  soldier  who  had 
deserted  on  the  way  to  the  Osage  towns. 

The  next  day  was  the  fourth  without  food.  It 
passed  slowly.  The  feet  of  some  of  the  men,  like 
those  of  Stub,  were  much  better;  but  John  Sparks 
and  young  Tom  could  not  stand,  and  Hugh  Menaugh 
and  Jake  Carter  could  not  walk. 

Toward  evening  the  sergeant  grew  very  uneasy ; 
alarm  settled  over  them  all.  No  tidings  of  any  kind 
had  arrived  from  the  lieutenant  and  Doctor 
Robinson. 

"  We'll  wait,  the  night,"  finally  said  Sergeant 
Meek.  "  In  the  morning  'twill  be  up  to  us,  for  if  we 
sit  here  longer  we'll  be  too  weak  to  move.  We'll 
divide  up,  those  of  us  who  can  walk.  A  part'll  have 
to  search  for  them  two  men,  for  maybe  they're  need- 
ing help  worse'n  we  are,  and  'tis  the  duty  of  a  soldier 
never  to  abandon  his  officers.  The  rest'll  look  for 
meat  again.  And  we'll  none  of  us  come  in  till  we 
fetch  either  news  or  meat.  Shame  on  us  if  we  can't 
turn  to  and  help  our  officers  and  ourselves." 

"  You're  right.  There's  nobody  can  blame  the 
cap'n  an'  the  doctor.  They've  never  spared  them- 
selves. We'll  all  do  our  best,  sergeant." 

"  Only  lend  me  a  pair  o'  fate,  any  wan  o*  yez 
233 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

whose  heart's  too  heavy  for  'em,  an*  I'll  look  for 
the  cap'n  meself,"  appealed  Tom  Dougherty. 

They  kept  up  the  fires  and  tried  to  sleep.  The 
black,  cold  night  deepened ;  overhead  the  steely  stars 
spanned  from  prairie  to  dark  slopes.  The  Great 
Bear  of  the  sky,  which  contained  the  Pointers  that 
told  the  time,  drifted  across,  ranging  on  his  nightly 
trail. 

Suddenly,  at  midnight,  they  heard  a  faint,  breath- 
less "  Whoo-ee!  "  And  while  they  listened,  another. 

"Tis  the  cap'n  and  the  doctor!"  the  sergeant 
exclaimed.  "  Hooray !  Give  'em  a  yell,  now,  all 
together.  Build  up  the  fires." 

They  yelled.  They  were  answered,  through  the 
darkness — and  presently  through  the  same  darkness 
the  lieutenant — and  the  doctor — came  staggering  in, 
bending  low,  to  the  fire-light 

Meat! 

"  Here  you  are,  my  lads !  "  the  lieutenant  panted. 
He  dropped  the  load  from  his  back,  swayed,  sank 
to  his  knees,  and  the  sergeant  sprang  to  catch  him. 

"  We're  all  right,  sir.  We  knew  you'd  be  coming. 
You're  a  welcome  sight,  sir,  meat  or  no  meat.  We 
were  getting  anxious  about  you  and  the  doctor,  sir." 

"  I'll  tend  to  him,  sergeant/'  gasped  the  doctor. 
"  You  be  helping  the  men  with  the  meat.  Don't  let 
'em  over-eat  There's  more,  back  where  we  killed." 

234 


NOT  YET  DEFEATED 

The  lieutenant  had  almost  fainted.  It  was  sev- 
eral minutes  before  he  could  speak  again.  He  and 
the  doctor  had  had  a  terrible  two  days.  The  doctor 
said  that  they  had  wounded  a  buffalo  with  three 
balls,  the  first  evening,  but  it  had  made  off.  All 
that  night  they  had  sat  up,  among  some  rocks,  nearly 
freezing  to  death  while  they  waited  for  morning. 
Then  they  had  sighted  a  herd  of  buffalo,  at  day- 
break, and  had  crawled  a  mile  through  the  snow — 
had  shot  eight  times,  wounded  three,  and  the  whole 
herd  had  escaped. 

That  second  day  they  had  tramped  until  the  lieu- 
tenant was  about  spent  with  hunger  and  lack  of  rest. 
Matters  had  looked  very  bad.  But  they  both  decided 
that  they  would  rather  die  looking  for  game,  than 
return  and  disappoint  the  men.  Just  at  dusk,  when 
they  were  aiming  for  a  point  of  timber,  there  to  spend 
another  night,  they  saw  a  third  herd  of  buffalo.  The 
lieutenant  managed  to  run  and  hide  behind  a  cedar. 
When  the  buffalo  were  about  to  pass,  he  shot,  and 
this  time  crippled  one.  The  doctor  ran,  and  with 
three  more  shots  they  killed  the  buffalo.  Hurrah! 

Then  they  butchered  it,  without  stopping  to  eat ; 
and  carrying  as  much  as  they  could  they  had  traveled 
for  six  hours,  bringing  the  meat  to  the  camp. 

"  It's  a  story  hard  to  beat,"  said  Sergeant  Meek, 
simply.  "  You  may  not  be  one  of  the  army,  yourself, 

235 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

sir;  but  as  officer  and  man  we're  proud  to  follow  you 
— you  and  the  cap'n,  sir." 

"  The  lieutenant  and  I  wondered  what  you  men 
were  thinking,  when  we  didn't  return."  the  doctor 
proffered.  "  You  had  a  right  to  expect  us  sooner? 
Did  you  plan  to  march  on  and  try  to  save  your 
lives?" 

"  No,  sir;  not  exactly  that,"  replied  rugged  Ser- 
geant Meek.  "  We  knew  you  hadn't  forgotten  us, 
and  there  was  no  complaining.  Seemed  like  we'd 
best  search  for  you,  and  the  same  time  find  meat  if 
we  could;  and  that  we'd  ha*  done,  the  first  thing  in 
the  morning,  sir." 

:<  Your  plan,  and  the  way  with  which  you  received 
us,  do  you  all  credit  before  the  world,"  spoke 
the  lieutenant,  who  overheard.  "  As  your  comrades 
we  thank  you,  men ;  and  as  your  officer  I  am  proud 
of  you.  My  reports  to  General  Wilkinson  and  the 
Secretary  of  War  shall  not  omit  the  devotion  to  duty 
that  has  characterized  your  whole  march." 


XVI 

BLOCKED   BY  THE  GREAT  WHITE  MOUNTAINS 

JOHN  SPARKS  and  Tom  Dougherty  were  to  be 
left  behind.  That  was  the  word. 

"What?" 

"  Yes.  The  doctor  says  not  a  step  shall  they 
march,  if  they  would  save  their  feet;  an'  poor  Tom, 
he's  like  to  lose  his,  anyhow.  An*  since  they  can't 
march,  no  more  can  we  carry  'em  across  the  moun- 
tains without  hosses.  So  here  they  stay  till  we  can 
send  an'  get  'em." 

All  the  buffalo  meat  had  been  brought  in.  The 
lieutenant  was  preparing  to  march  on,  for  the  Red 
River.  From  the  camp  he  had  explored  farther 
westward,  to  the  very  foot  of  the  mountains,  seeking 
a  trail  over ;  but  the  snow  was  four  and  five  feet  deep 
even  there,  the  whole  country  above  was  white,  and 
he  gave  the  trail  up. 

"  We'll  have  to  march  on  south  along  this  side, 
until  we  find  a  better  place." 

Now  they  made  ready.  John  Sparks  and  Tom 
were  fixed  as  comfortably  as  possible,  with  guns 
and  ammunition,  a  lean-to  for  shelter,  and  the  best 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

buffalo-robes,  and  wood  and  meat.  Their  packs, 
and  the  packs  of  Hugh  Menaugh  and  Jake  Carter 
(who  barely  could  hobble,  using  their  muskets  as 
crutches)  were  hidden  under  trees. 

Sturdy  red-haired  John  and  young  Tom  felt 
badly.  So  did  everybody.  The  lieutenant's  voice 
broke,  as  he  said : 

"  We  aren't  deserting  you,  my  lads.  Never  think 
of  that.  As  surely  as  we  live  we  will  send  for  you, 
the  very  first  thing,  as  soon  as  we  locate  a  desirable 
camping  spot,  to  which  to  bring  down  the  horses. 
That  will  not  be  long;  we  have  only  to  cross  these 
mountains.  Rather  than  desert  you,  if  I  should 
be  the  last  man  alive  in  the  party  I  would  return, 
myself,  and  die  with  you.  Whatever  happens,  meet 
it  like  soldiers,  bearing  in  mind  that  you  are  suffer- 
ing for  your  Country.  It  is  far  preferable  to  perish 
thus,  in  the  wilderness,  in  discharge  of  duty,  rather 
than  to  forfeit  honor  by  evading  hardships  and  toil 
like  the  disloyal  Kennerman." 

"  Oh,  sir!  We'll  act  the  man,  sir,"  they  replied. 
"  We'll  keep  a  stiff  upper  lip,  an'  be  waitin'  for  the 
hosses  to  come  get  us." 

The  lieutenant  shook  hands  with  them ;  the  doc- 
tor shook  hands  with  them. 

"  Now  take  care  of  those  feet,"  he  urged. 

Everybody  shook  hands  with  them. 


BLOCKED  BY  GREAT  WHITE  MOUNTAINS 

"  Good-by,  lads." 

"  Good-by  to  yez.  God  send  yez  safe  to  the  Red 
River,  an1  we'll  join  ye2  there,  all  bound  home 
together." 

"  For*d,  march ! "  barked  the  lieutenant.  His 
voice  was  husky.  There  were  tears  freezing  on  his 
cheeks. 

"  ForM,  men/'  rasped  old  Sergeant  Meek,  and 
blew  his  nose  violently. 

A  number  of  the  other  men  were  sniffling  and 
blowing,  and  Stub  choked  as  he  blindly  trudged. 
Bluff  Hugh  Menaugh  growled  gently  to  himself, 
while  he  and  Jake  hobbled. 

As  long  as  they  could  see  the  little  camp  and  the 
two  figures  sitting  they  occasionally  turned  and 
waved;  and  John  and  Tom  waved  answer. 

"  Well,  we  did  our  best  for  'em/'  sighed  Corporal 
Jerry.  "  We  took  only  one  meal  o'  meat.  They 
have  the  rest.  'Twill  get  'em  through,  like  as  not." 

"  Yes.  Once  across  these  mountains,  to  the  Red 
River,  and  we'll  send  for  them  and  the  bosses." 

This  evening  the  one  meal  of  meat  was  eaten. 
A  little  snow  fell.  In  the  morning  the  lieutenant 
ordered  Sergeant  Meek  to  take  the  party  on,  while 
he  and  the  doctor  hunted.  The  day  was  dark  and 
lowering.  Then  the  storm  set  in  again,  snowing 
furiously.  By  noon  the  snow  was  knee  high;  they 

239 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE         .. 

could  not  see  ten  feet  around ;  Hugh  and  Jake  were 
unable  to  move  farther ;  the  lieutenant  and  the  doctor 
were  still  out — perhaps  lost,  like  themselves. 

"  'Tis  no  use,  men.  We'll  make  for  the  nearest 
timber  and  camp  there,"  ordered  Sergeant  Meek. 

That  was  another  miserably  cold,  hungry  day, 
and  a  worse  night. 

"  How  flesh  and  blood  may  be  expected  to  stand 
more  of  this,  I  don't  know,"  uttered  John  Brown. 

"  And  it's  not  for  you  to  ask,"  the  sergeant 
sternly  rebuked.  "If  you're  so  weak-hearted  as  to 
think  them  thoughts,  keep  'em  to  yourself.  Even 
the  lad  Stub — a  mere  boy  that  he  is — speaks  no  such 
words.  Shame  on  you — you  a  soldier !  " 

John  Brown  muttered,  but  said  no  more. 

"Heaven  help  the  cap'n  an'  the  doctor,  again," 
spoke  Corporal  Jerry,  as  they  all  huddled  about 
their  fire,  and  the  wind  howled  and  the  snow  hissed, 
and  the  drifts  piled  higher  against  their  little  bulwark 
of  packs.  "  An*  if  they  don't  find  us  an'  we  don't 
find  them,  'twill  go  hard  with  Sparks  and  Dougherty, 
too." 

"If  the  storm  clears,  we'll  march  on  in  the  morn- 
ing," said  Sergeant  Meek.  "  We've  had  orders  to 
meet  'em,  on  a  piece  yet,  and  that's  our  duty." 

The  morning  dawned  gray  and  white,  but  the 
storm  had  ceased.  They  shook  off  the  snow,  re- 

240 


BLOCKED  BY  GREAT  WHITE  MOUNTAINS 

shouldered  their  packs,  and  guns  in  hand  stiffly 
started.  The  snow  was  thigh  high ;  the  Great  White 
Mountains  looming  in  a  long  front  without  end  on 
their  right  were  whiter  than  ever;  the  bottoms  and 
the  more  distant  mountains  on  their  left  were  white. 
It  was  snow,  snow,  snow,  everywhere ;  the  very  dead 
of  winter. 

Now  (Good!)  here  came  the  lieutenant  and  the 
doctor,  ploughing  down  a  slope,  their  packs  on  their 
backs,  but  nothing  else.  Snowy  and  breathing  hard, 
they  arrived.  The  men,  plodding,  had  seen;  and 
having  given  up  hope  plodded  on,  saying  not  a  word. 
Only  Sergeant  Meek  greeted,  saluting  as  best  he 
might : 

"  All  well,  cap'n.    Good  morning  to  you,  sirs/' 

"  No  luck  this  time,  sergeant/'  wheezed  the  lieu- 
tenant, cheerily,  but  with  face  pinched  and  set.  "  We 
missed  you,  and  spent  the  night  together  in  the  snow." 

"  Yes,  sir.  We  couldn't  see,  for  the  storm,  sir. 
and  had  to  camp  in  the  nearest  shelter." 

"  You  did  right,  sergeant.  The  storm  was  so 
thick  that  I  found  even  the  compass  of  little  help. 
The  doctor  and  I  became  separated  and  were  fearful 
that  we  had  lost  each  other  as  well  as  the  party. 
Halt  the  men." 

"  Squad,  halt,"  rasped  the  sergeant. 

The  men  waited,  panting  and  coughing. 
241 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

"It's  evident  there  are  no  buffalo  down  in  the 
open,  lads,"  spoke  the  lieutenant.  "  The  doctor  and 
I  have  sighted  never  a  one  nor  any  sign  of  one. 
The  storm  has  driven  them  back  and  higher,  into  the 
timber.  We'll  make  in  the  same  direction,  and  be 
crossing  the  mountains  while  seeking  meat." 

He  and  the  doctor  led  off,  heading  westward,  to 
climb  the  Great  White  Mountains.  The  route  com- 
menced to  get  more  rolling — up  and  down,  up  and 
down,  over  the  rounded  foothills  concealed  by  the 
snow.  'Twas  leg-wearying,  breath-taking  work. 
The  snow  grew  deeper.  In  the  hollows  it  had  gath- 
ered shoulders  high;  upon  the  slopes  it  was  waist 
high.  The  little  column  was  straggling.  Stub,  the 
smallest  member,  trying  to  tread  in  the  broken  trail, 
was  at  times  almost  buried. 

In  an  hour  they  all  had  covered  a  pitifui  dis- 
tance ;  to  be  sure,  the  prairie  was  somewhat  below, 
but  the  real  mountains  seemed  far  above,  and  the 
silent  timber  still  awaited,  in  a  broad  belt. 

The  lieutenant  and  the  doctor  had  halted.  They 
turned  and  began  to  plough  back.  The  little  column, 
steaming  with  the  vapor  from  lungs  and  bodies,  drew 
nearer  to  them. 

"  The  snow  is  too  deep,  here,  lads,"  the  lieutenant 
called,  as  he  and  the  doctor  passed  in  front  of  the 
file.  His  voice  was  tired;  anybody  might  have 

342 


BLOCKED  BY  GREAT  WHITE  MOUNTAINS 

thought  him  discouraged — and  little  wonder.  "  We'll 
have  to  keep  lower  down,  and  try  elsewhere." 

"  To  the  famine  country  of  the  open  bottoms," 
he  said.  Were  they  never  to  get  across  these  Great 
White  Mountains,  which  faced  them  unending? 
Were  they  to  die  in  the  snow,  just  for  the  sake  of 
hunting  the  Red  River  ?  John  Brown,  near  the  head 
of  the  column,  broke  restraint  again  and  exclaimed 
roundly : 

"  I  say,  it's  more  than  flesh  an*  blood  can  bear, 
to  march  three  days  with  not  a  mouthful  of  food, 
through  snow  three  feet  deep,  an*  carry  loads  only 
fit  forhosses!" 

Everybody  heard.  Sergeant  Meek  turned  on  him 
angrily.  Had  the  lieutenant  heard  also  ?  No  ?  Yes ! 
He  had  paused  for  an  instant,  as  if  to  reply;  then 
without  another  sign  he  had  proceeded. 

"  You'll  be  called  to  answer  for  this,  Brown," 
warned  the  sergeant. 

John  muttered  to  himself,  and  a  silence  fell  upon 
the  file.  Stooped  and  unsteady  under  their  own 
loads,  the  lieutenant  and  the  doctor  doggedly  con- 
tinued, breaking  the  trail  on  course  obliquing  for 
the  lower  country.  The  others  followed,  breathing 
hard. 

The  lieutenant  and  the  doctor  had  struck  down 
a  shallow  draw.  Issuing  from  the  end  of  it,  they 

243 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

were  out  of  sight.  When  the  head  of  the  column 
arrived  at  the  same  spot,  there  were  only  the  two 
packs,  and  a  message  scrawled  with  a  ramrod  oh 
the  snow.  Sergeant  Meek  read. 

"  We  see  buffalo.  Camp  in  nearest  timber  and 
wait.  Z.  M.  P." 

Every  eye  sprang  to  search  the  landscape.  There ! 
Far  down,  upon  the  prairie!  Black  dots — slowly 
moving  across!  Buffalo!  And  where  were  the 
hunters?  Their  tracks  pointed  .onward  from  the 
two  packs.  See!  They  were  running,  crouched, 
down  among  the  billowy  swells,  as  if  to  head  the 
animals  off.  It  was  a  desperate  chance. 

"  The  breeze  is  with  us,"  Sergeant  Meek  cried 
hopefully.  "  Quick !  For  that  timber  tip,  yon, 
and  keep  out  o'  sight.  Trust  the  cap'n  and  the  doc- 
tor to  do  their  best.  Let's  take  no  risk  of  spoiling 
their  chance." 

The  column  hustled,  with  strength  renewed.  The 
tip  of  timber  was  about  a  mile  distant.  The  buffalo 
had  disappeared  behind  a  knoll  of  the  prairie;  the 
last  seen  of  the  lieutenant  and  the  doctor,  they 
were  hastening — stumbling  and  falling  and.  lunging 
again,  to  reach  the  same  knoll.  The  doctor  had 
forged  ahead.  He  was  stronger  than  the  lieutenant. 

Then  the  scene  was  swallowed  up  by  a  dip  in  the 
trail  to  the  timber. 

244 


BLOCKED  BY  GREAT  WHITE  MOUNTAINS 

Next,  a  dully-sounding  gunshot !  But  only  one. 
The  doctor  probably  had  fired — perhaps  at  long  dis- 
tance. Had  he  landed — disabled,  or  only  wounded, 
or  missed?  Nothing  could  yet  be  seen.  The  men, 
and  Stub,  their  lungs  almost  bursting,  shambled  as 
fast  as  possible.  Just  as  they  emerged  at  the  point 
of  timber,  other  shots  boomed:  two,  close  together. 
Hooray !  That  meant  business.  They  paused,  puff- 
ing, to  gaze. 

Again  hooray !  Down  near  the  knoll  a  black  spot 
blotched  the  snow.  At  one  side  of  it  there  were 
other  black  spots,  some  still,  some  moving  in  and  out. 
It  was  the  herd,  and  seemed  confused.  Look !  From 
the  black  spot,  off  by  itself — a  dead  buffalo,  that! — 
smoke  puffs  darted  and  spread.  The  buffalo  herd 
surged  a  little,  but  did  not  run.  The  lieutenant  and 
the  doctor  were  lying  behind  the  carcass  and 
shooting. 

"  One,  anyway,  lads !  "  cheered  Sergeant  Meek. 
"  Maybe  more.  Off  with  your  packs,  now.  Roy, 
Mount  joy,  Stout,  Brown,  you  cut  wood;  the  rest 
of  us'll  be  clearing  a  space.  There'll  be  meat  in  camp 
before  long,  and  we'll  have  fires  ready." 

They  all  worked  fast.  No  one  now  felt  tired. 
The  hunt  down  below  sounded  like  a  battle.  The 
lieutenant  and  the  doctor  were  firing  again  and  again, 
as  rapidly  as  they  might  load  and  aim.  Toiling 

245 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

with  ax  and  spade  and  hands,  the  column,  making 
camp,  scarcely  paused  to  watch;  but  presently  the 
firing  ceased — the  buffalo  herd  were  lumbering  away, 
at  last,  with  one,  two,  three  of  them  gradually  drop- 
ping behind,  to  stagger,  waver,  and  suddenly  pitch, 
dead !  Meat,  and  plenty  of  it ! 

The  lieutenant  and  the  doctor  were  busy,  butcher- 
ing the  carcass  that  had  shielded  them.  They  wasted 
no  time.  Here  they  came,  loaded  well.  The  fires 
were  crackling  and  blazing,  in  readiness;  and  when 
they  panted  in,  spent,  bloody  and  triumphant,  the 
camp  cheered  hoarsely. 

"  Eat,  boys,"  gasped  the  lieutenant.  "  Fortune 
has  favored  us.  There's  more  meat  below.  But 
we'll  eat  first" 

Everybody  hacked  and  tore  at  the  red  humps, 
and  in  a  jiffy  the  strips  from  them  were  being  thrust 
into  the  fire  by  ramrods ;  without  waiting  for  more 
than  a  scorching  and  a  warming  through,  the  men 
devoured  like  wolves.  With  the  meat  juice  daubing 
his  chin  and  staining  the  men's  beards,  Stub  thought 
that  never  before  had  he  tasted  such  sweetness.  He 
forgot  his  other  hungers. 

Whew !  One  by  one  the  men  drew  back,  to  chew 
the  last  mouthfuls,  and  light  pipes,  contented.  The 
meat  all  had  vanished. 

"  Send  Brown  to  me,  sergeant,"  the  lieutenant 
246 


BLOCKED  BY  GREAT  WHITE  MOUNTAINS 

ordered.   There  was  something  ht  had  not  forgotten. 

John  Brown  arose  and  shambled  to  where  the 
lieutenant  and  the  doctor  were  sitting.  He  looked 
sheepish  and  frightened.  The  lieutenant  stood,  to 
front  him;  did  not  acknowledge  his  salute,  but 
scanned  him  sternly,  his  haggard  eyes  commencing 
to  blaze  bluely. 

"  Brown,  you  this  day  presumed  to  make  use  of 
language  that  was  seditious  and  mutinous;  I  then 
passed  it  over,  pitying  your  situation  and  laying 
your  conduct  to  your  distress  from  hunger,  rather 
than  to  desire  to  sow  discontent  amongst  the  party. 
Had  I  saved  provisions  for  ourselves,  whilst  you 
were  starving,"  reproached  the  lieutenant ;  "  had  we 
been  marching  along  light  and  at  our  ease,  whilst  you 
were  weighed  down  with  your  burden,  then  you 
would  have  had  some  excuse  for  your  remarks :  but 
when  we  all  were  equally  hungry,  weary,  worn,  and 
charged  with  burdens  which  I  believe  my  natural 
strength  is  less  able  to  bear  than  any  man's  in  the 
party — when  we  are  always  foremost  in  breaking 
the  road,  reconnbitering  and  enduring  the  fatigues 
of  the  chase,  it  was  the  height  of  ingratitude  in  you 
to  let  an  expression  escape  that  showed  discontent. 
Your  ready  compliance  and  firm  perseverance  I  had 
reason  to  expect,  as  the  leader  of  men  who  are  my 
companions  in  misery  and  danger.  But  your  duty 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

as  a  soldier  (the  young  lieutenant's  voice  rang,  and 
his  eyes  flashed)  called  on  your  obedience  to  your 
officer,  and  a  suppression  of  such  language.  How- 
ever, for  this  time  I  will  pardon ;  but  I  assure  you, 
should  that  ever  be  repeated,  I  will  answer  your  in- 
gratitude and  punish  your  disobedience  by  instant 
death/' 

John  Brown  had  shrunk  and  whitened. 

"  Yes,  sir,"  he  faltered.  "  Thank  you,  sir.  I'll 
remember.  It  shan't  happen  again." 

"You  may  go/'  The  lieutenant's  eyes  left 
Brown's  face  and  traveled  over  the  other  men.  "  I 
take  this  opportunity,"  he  said,  "  likewise  to  express 
to  you,  soldiers,  generally,  my  thanks  for  your  obedi- 
ence, perseverance,  and  ready  contempt  of  every 
danger,  which  you  have  in  common  shown.  And 
I  assure  you  that  nothing  shall  be  lacking  on  my 
part  to  procure  you  the  rewards  of  our  Government 
and  the  gratitude  of  your  countrymen." 

"  Three  cheers  for  the  cap'n,  lads,"  shouted  Ser- 
geant Meek.  "  Hooray,  now !  Hooray !  Hooray ! " 

"  We're  with  you  to  the  end,  sir!  " 

"We're  not  complainin',  sir.  No  more  is 
Brown." 

"You're  the  leader,  sir,  and  we're  proud  to 
follow." 

"  Sure,  you  an*  the  doctor  do  the  hard  work." 
248 


BLOCKED  BY  GREAT  WHITE  MOUNTAINS 

Thus  they  cried,  bravely  and  huskily;  for  who 
could  help  loving  this  stanch  little  officer,  who  asked 
no  favors  of  rank,  except  to  lead,  and  who  now 
stood  before  them,  in  his  stained  red  fur-lined  cap, 
his  wet,  torn  blanket-coat,  his  bedraggled  thin  blue 
trousers  and  soaked,  scuffed  moccasins.  He  was  all 
man. 

He  raised  his  hand.  His  face  had  flushed,  his 
eyes  had  softened  moistly,  and  his  lips  quivered. 

"  That  will  do,  lads.  We  understand  each  other, 
and  I'm  sure  Brown  will  not  repeat  his  offense.  For 
my  part,  I  am  determined  that  we  shall  not  move 
again  without  a  supply  of  food.  That  imperils  our 
success,  and  is  more  than  our  duty  would  require 
of  us." 

"  Still,  we  might  have  made  good,  hadn't  we  left 
the  bulk  of  our  meat  with  Sparks  and  Dougherty, 
back  yonder,"  Freegift  Stout  remarked,  to  the  others 
in  his  mess.  "  That's  what  pinched  us." 


XVII 

THE  FORT  IN  THE  WILDERNESS 

ACROSS  the  Great  White  Mountains  at  last ! 

That  had  proved  to  be  not  such  a  hard  trip,  after 
all,  although  uncomfortable  on  account  of  the  snow. 
First,  the  meat  from  the  other  buffalo  (three)  had 
been  brought  into  camp — had  been  sliced  and  the 
strips  hung  on  frames,  to  dry.  There  was  a  great 
quantity  of  it;  more  than  could  be  carried  on  foot. 
So  Hugh  Menaugh,  whose  frozen  feet  still  crippled 
him  badly,  was  left  to  guard  the  extra  amount,  at 
this  supply  depot ;  and,  loaded  well,  the  twelve  others 
marched  on. 

The  lieutenant  and  the  doctor  led  into  the  moun- 
tains. Now  was  the  time  to  cross  while  the  men  had 
meat  and  felt  strong.  In  spite  of  the  snow  three 
feet  deep  they  made  fourteen  miles,  following  the 
low  places ;  and  at  evening  they  were  over — they  had 
come  upon  a  stream  flowing  west!  It  surely  was  a 
feeder  of  the  Red  River! 

Again  they  all  cheered.  But  if  they  were  over, 
they  were  not  yet  through,  for  ahead  they  could  see 
only  the  same  bald  or  timbered  swells  and  ridges, 
snow-covered  and  still  without  end. 

250 


THE  FORT  IN  THE  WILDERNESS 

Near  noon,  the  next  day,  the  lieutenant  and  the 
doctor,  in  the  advance  as  usual,  turned  and  gladly 
beckoned,  and  pointed  before.  They  all  hastened. 
The  signs  were  good — the  brush  had  been  flattened 
or  cut  off,  down  a  long  draw,  and  the  trees  had  been 
blazed  and  curiously  painted  with  rude  figures.  It 
was  an  Indian  pass. 

The  lieutenant  and  the  doctor  had  gone  on. 
When  the  others  arrived  at  the  spot,  they  saw. 

"We're  coming  out,  boys!" 

"  We'll  be  out  before  night!  " 

A  separate,  distant  range  of  mountains  might  be 
sighted,  through  the  gap  made  by  the  blazed  trail; 
and  below,  nearer,  there  was  glimpse  of  the  low 
country,  bordered  on  this  side  by  bare  sandy  foot- 
hills of  these  Great  White  Mountains  themselves. 

At  sunset  they  were  down  and  into  the  open, 
between  the  timbered  slopes  and  the  rolling  sand- 
hills. On  the  west,  beyond  the  sand-hills  there  ap- 
peared to  be  a  wide  valley;  and  beyond  the  valley 
that  other  range  of  mountains. 

Camp  had  to  be  made  soon,  here  at  the  oase  of 
the  Great  White  Mountains.  The  lieutenant  went 
out  alone,  to  climb  the  sand-hills,  for  a  view.  They 
could  see  him,  a  small  figure,  toiling  up  and  standing, 
to  peer  through  his  spy-glass.  He  came  back  in  the 
dusk,  but  his  face  was  aglow. 

251 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

"I  have  good  news,"  he  announced.  "We  have 
won  success.  With  the  glass  I  can  see  from  those 
sand-hills  a  larger  river  coursing  from  northwest  to 
southeast  through  the  valley  beyond.  There  can  be 
no  doubt  that  it  is  the  Red  River." 

They  cheered  and  cheered,  and  ate  with  fine  appe- 
tites. It  was  a  happy  night.  As  Sergeant  Meek 
said  : 

"  Once  there — and  'twon't  be  long — we  can  send 
back  for  Menaugh,  and  poor  Sparks  and  Dougherty, 
and  Baroney  and  Smith  and  the  hosses ;  and  we'll  all 
be  together  again,  ready  for  the  march  home." 

The  sand-hills  were  five  miles  wide,  and  looked 
to  be  about  fifteen  miles  long.  The  river  came  down 
obliquely  through  the  valley — which  was  indeed  a 
broad  bottom  of  prairie-land ;  so  they  cut  across  at  an 
angle,  and  not  until  the  second  evening,  after  a  day's 
march  of  twenty- four  miles,  did  they  reach  the  bank 
of  the  river  itself,  January  30. 

It  certainly  was  the  Red  River,  issuing  from  the 
western  mountains,  and  here  turning  more  south- 
wardly, in  the  middle  of  the  valley. 

The  valley  was  a  wonderland.  It  lay  flat,  with 
little  snow,  full  fifty  miles  wide  and  in  length  almost 
farther  than  eye  might  say.  The  mountains  in  the 
west  were  bald,  snowy  and  grim.  The  Great  White 
Mountains  on,  the  east  appeared  to  end  opposite  in  a 

252 


THE  FORT  IN  THE  WILDERNESS 

huge,  dazzling  peak  with  three  crests,  but  a  lower 
range  veered  in,  narrowing  the  valley  in  the  south. 
Afar  in  the  north,  the  valley  was  closed  completely. 

The  bottoms  were  dotted  with  herds  of  deer, 
browsing  on  the  thick  dried  grasses.  Many  smaller 
streams  joined  the  big  river. 

"  Aye,  'tis  a  hunters'  paradise,  this,"  sighed  Free- 
gift  Stout.  "  We're  in  a  land  o'  plenty.  We  can 
send  back  word  that'll  gladden  the  hearts  of  the 
boys  behind." 

The  lieutenant  had  decided  to  make  a  fortified 
camp,  so  as  to  have  protection  from  the  Indians  and 
perhaps  from  the  Spanish  while  the  men  behind 
were  being  sent  for  and  boats  were  being  built.  He 
intended  to  descend  the  Red  River  by  boat  and  horse, 
both. 

There  was  no  timber  at  this  spot.  Some  appeared 
lower  along  the  river.  They  marched  for  it— eigh- 
teen miles.  The  larger  trees  were  across  the  river; 
therefore  the  lieutenant  led  across,  also,  by  way  of 
the  ice  and  several  islands.  Then  they  came  to 
another  river,  that  looked  like  a  fork,  entering  from 
the  west.  About  five  miles  from  its  mouth  the 
lieutenant  found  a  good  place.  The  fort  should  be 
here. 

It  was  a  smah  piece  of  level  bottom,  grown  to 
cottonwood  trees  on  the  north  side  of  this  west  fork. 

253 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

The  fork  was  all  open  water,  about  thirty  paces  wide. 
Opposite,  on  the  south  side,  there  was  a  high,  partly 
bare  hill,  out  of  gunshot. 

The  next  morning,  which  was  February  i,  the 
lieutenant  staked  a  plan  of  the  fort,  on  the  ground. 
Axes  rang,  spades  scraped,  picks  thudded.  As  soon 
as  the  fort  was  far  enough  along  so  that  it  would 
stand  an  attack,  a  party  should  be  sent  back  across 
the  Great  Snowy  Mountains  to  get  the  other  men 
and  the  horses. 

"  But  what  I'd  like  to  know,  is,  what  are  we 
doin'  on  this  side  the  main  river?  "  queried  Corporal 
Jerry,  that  night. 

"  To  get  at  the  big  trees,  and  because  'tis  the 
proper  place  for  the  fort,"  answered  Sergeant  Meek. 

"Yes,  maybe.  But  bein'  as  this  is  the  Red 
River,  we're  on  the  Spanish  side,  ain't  we?  From  all 
I  hear,  the  Red  River's  the  dividin'  line  betwixt  the 
United  States  an*  Mexico,  an'  we're  across  it  into 
Mexican  territory." 

"  That's  not  for  you  or  me  to  say,  my  boy,"  Ser- 
geant Meek  retorted.  "  The  cap'n  has  his  orders, 
you  can  bet,  and  all  we  need  do  is  to  f  oiler  him.  But 
sure,  this  is  a  fork,  at  the  head-waters,  and  we're 
on  the  north  side  the  fork.  In  a  bit  more  we'll  be 
starting  on  down,  like  as  not  keeping  safe  to  our  own 


THE  FORT  IN  THE  WILDERNESS 

side  again.  And  meanwhile  if  the  Spanish  tackle 
us  here,  all  the  worse  for  'em.  Not  the  whole  Span- 
ish army  could  budge  us  from  this  fort  when  it's 
done.  I  wouldn't  mind  having  a  dust  with  'em,  for  a 
change  from  shooting  bufFlo  and  deer." 

"  You're  right.  A  dust  at  real  fightin'  would 
serve  to  pass  the  time,  sergeant,"  the  others  cried. 
"Didn't  we  foller  'em,  an'  didn't  they  lead  us 
wrong?  " 

"  Or  else  we  led  ourselves  wrong,  mistaking 
Injun  trail  for  white  man  trail.  At  any  rate,  here 
we  are ;  and  as  soon  as  the  ice  breaks — which  won't 
be  long — we'll  all  be  marching  on,  for  home." 

The  fort  was  to  be  a  strong  one.  Lieutenant 
Pike,  who  took  great  pride  in  it,  explained  the  scheme, 
himself,  to  Stub. 

"  Thirty-six  feet  square,  inside,  fronting  upon 
the  river,  where  the  current  is  too  deep  to  ford. 
Bastions  (which  were  small  block-houses)  at  the  two 
rear  corners,  to  cover  the  walls  on  three  sides.  The 
walls,  six  feet  up,  of  large  cotton  wood  logs  two  feet 
through.  Smaller  logs  to  be  laid  for  another  six 
feet.  A  ditch  will  be  dug  all  around,  inside,  and 
sloped  off  toward  the  walls,  for  pickets  to  rest  in. 
The  pickets  will  be  sharpened  and  will  slant  two 
and  one-half  feet  over  the  top  of  the  walls,  like  a 

255 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

fringe,  so  that  nobody  can  climb  in.  All  around, 
outside,  there  will  be  a  deep  ditch  four  feet  wide,  and 
filled  with  water.  This  is  called  a  moat.  We  will 
cut  a  row  of  loopholes  in  the  walls,  eight  feet  up ;  the 
men  will  stand  upon  platforms,  to  shoot  through. 
Our  only  entrance  will  be  a  hole,  about  the  size  of  a 
man's  body,  low  down,  on  the  river  side ;  and  to  use 
it,  everybody  will  have  to  crawl  in  or  out  on  his 
stomach,  and  cross  the  big  ditch  by  means  of  a  plank. 
There  will  be  no  roof ;  this  is  what  is  called  a  stock- 
ade. But  the  men  doubtless  will  construct  shelters 
of  brush." 

"  You'll  be  a  soldier  yet,"  the  doctor  laughed, 
to  Stub,  overhearing  the  explanation. 

"  Entrenched  here  we  need  have  no  fear  of  one 
hundred  Spanish  troops,"  the  lieutenant  remarked. 
"  We  could  easily  stand  them  off  for  a  day  or  two ; 
then  by  a  sally  at  night  either  disperse  them,  or  make 
our  escape  in  the  darkness,  before  our  supplies  were 
exhausted." 

"And  Indians?" 

"  They  would  be  less  dangerous,  unless  they 
sent  word  to  Santa  Fe  in  the  south.  We  would 
endeavor  to  treat  with  them,  which  is  one  of  the 
purposes  of  the  expedition." 

Jake  Carter  and  Alex  Roy  were  not  able  to  do 
256 


THE  FORT  IN  THE  WILDERNESS 

much,  on  account  of  tender  feet.  The  other  men 
worked  hard,  building  the  stockade  around  the 
American  flag  that  had  been  planted  on  a  pole,  in  the 
center.  The  lieutenant  and  Doctor  Robinson  hunted 
and  explored.  Stub  frequently  went  with  them,  to 
help  bring  in  the  meat. 

Once  they  discovered  a  group  of  springs,  at  the 
base  of  the  hill  south  of  the  fork  and  opposite  the 
stockade.  These  were  warm  springs,  and  strangely 
colored,  brown  and  yellow.  Their  warm  water  was 
what  kept  the  fork  open,  clear  to  the  main  river 
and  for  some  distance  down  below  the  mouth  of  the 
fork. 

They  discovered  also  a  well-traveled  trail  up 
along  an  eastern  branch  of  the  main  river,  not  far 
above  the  western  fork.  It  was  a  horse  trail.  Camps 
beside  it  showed  that  soldiers — probably  Spanish — 
had  used  it.  So  the  Spanish  came  in  here. 

The  lieutenant  and  the  doctor  talked  consider- 
ably of  Santa  Fe,  the  capital  of  New  Mexico.  It  lay 
somewhere  south.  The  lieutenant  was  anxious  to 
know  more  about  it,  so  as  to  make  report  upon  it 
to  the  United  States  government.  He  could  not 
leave  the  stockade,  himself,  but  the  doctor  arranged 
to  go. 

Evidently  this  had  been  the  plan  for  some  time. 
17  257 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

A  trader  by  the  name  of  William  Morrison,  in  the 
United  States,  had  sent  goods  there,  three  years 
ago,  in  charge  of  another  man  named  Baptiste 
Lalande,  to  be  sold.  But  Lalande  had  never  come 
back  with  the  money.  Doctor  Robinson  had  agreed 
with  William  Morrison  to  visit  Santa  Fe,  if  near 
there,  and  collect  the  money.  This  would  be  an 
excuse  for  spying  around. 

At  the  end  of  the  first  week,  when  the  stockade 
was  partially  finished,  the  doctor  left  for  Santa  Fe. 
He  set  out  westward,  up  the  south  bank  of  the  fork 
(which  was  the  wrong  direction,  although  none  of 
them  knew  it),  and  promised  to  return  with  his 
report  in  a  week  or  ten  days. 

The  men  were  not  so  certain  about  this.  Ser- 
geant Meek  wagged  his  grizzled  head  dubiously. 

"  Not  to  criticize  a  superior  officer,  but  strikes 
me  it's  a  risky  move.  The  doctor's  pure  grit,  all 
right  enough,  to  head  alone  through  a  country  full 
o*  Injun  sign  and  Spanish  sign  to  boot,  and  he's  like 
to  run  his  foot  into  a  wolf  trap.  For  if  he  gets 
there,  them  Spanish  will  be  curyus  to  know  where 
he  come  from ;  and  what's  to  prevent  their  back-trail- 
ing him?  Oh,  well ;  there's  something  afoot  that  we 
don't  understand.  Our  duty's  to  obey  orders,  and 
if  the  lieutenant  says  for  us  all  to  go  to  Santy  Fee, 

258 


THE  FORT  IN  THE  WILDERNESS 

go  we  will.    But  we'll  not  go  there  by  any  orders 
o'  the  Spanish." 

This  evening  Corporal  Jerry  Jackson  was  started 
out,  to  get  John  Sparks  and  Tom  Dougherty,  if  he 
could,  and  also  Hugh  Menaugh,  on  the  other  side 
of  the  mountains.  He  took  with  him  Freegift  Stout, 
William  Gordon,  John  Brown  and  John  Mountjoy. 

That  left  in  the  stockade  only  the  lieutenant, 
Sergeant  Meek,  Terry  Miller,  Jake  Carter  and  Alex 
Roy  (whose  feet  had  been  badly  frozen),  and  Stub. 
They  missed  the  doctor,  and  Corporal  Jerry's  squad, 
but  could  get  along  for  a  few  days. 

This  was  February  7.  No  word  might  be  ex- 
pected from  the  doctor  or  Corporal  Jerry  for  at  least 
a  week.  Nothing  especial  happened  during  the  week. 
The  men  and  Stub  kept  on  laboring  at  the  stockade, 
the  lieutenant  read  in  a  French  book  a  great  deal, 
'or  hunted  for  deer,  taking  Stub  as  companion. 

By  the  sixteenth  the  walls  of  the  stockade  were 
about  done,  and  the  inside  ditch,  for  the  pickets, 
was  being  pecked  out — a  slow  job  in  the  frozen 
earth*  Nine  days  had  passed,  and  still  there  was 
no  sign  from  the  doctor  or  Corporal  Jerry.  This 
morning  the  lieutenant  and  Stub  went  out  hunting 
again,  down  the  main  river.  The  lieutenant  carried 
his  favorite  musket — the  one  whose  grip  had  been 

259 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

mended.     Stub  wore  a  pistol,  the  mate  to  Hugh 
Menaugh's,  borrowed  from  the  lieutenant. 

They  had  tramped  about  six  miles,  had  just 
wounded  a  deer  and  were  trailing  it,  when  the  lieu- 
tenant suddenly  exclaimed: 

"  Halt.    Be  quiet.    Somebody's  coming." 
Two  strangers,  horseback,  were  topping  a  rise, 
half  a  mile  before  and  a  little  on  the  right  or  west. 


XVIII 

VISITORS  FROM  THE  SOUTH 

"  NOT  wild  Indians ;  Spanish,  rather,"  mused  the 
lieutenant,  as,  standing  motionless,  he  and  Stub 
gazed.  "Hah!  They  may  be  videttes  (scouts)  from 
a  large  party,  or  they  may  be  hunters  like  ourselves. 
We'll  turn  back,  my  boy;  not  from  fear  but  to  avoid 
trouble  if  possible." 

So  they  turned  back,  in  the  direction  of  the 
stockade.  Glancing  behind,  Stub  saw  the  two  horse- 
men descending  the  hill  at  a  gallop. 

"  They're  coming,  lieutenant.    They've  seen  us." 

"  The  sound  of  our  gun  no  doubt  attracted  them 
first.  They  seem  to  be  alone.  Very  well.  They 
must  not  be  permitted  to  think  that  we're  afraid  of 
them.  Should  they  persist  in  coming  on,  we'll 
face  them." 

The  two  horsemen  did  come  on,  flourishing  their 
lances  as  if  in  a  charge.  They  were  closing  the  gap 
rapidly — were  within  gunshot,  when  the  lieutenant 
barked  the  brisk  order : 

"  Now !  Face  about !  We'll  show  them  the  muz- 
zles of  our  guns." 

261 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

They  turned,  and  leveled  musket  and  pistol.  The 
two  horsemen  instantly  pulled  their  mounts  short, 
whirled,  and  bending  low  scudded  away.  In  a  short 
distance  they  halted,  and  sat  waiting. 

"  We'll  advance  on  them/'  quoth  the  lieutenant. 

But  the  first  few  steps  sent  the  pair  scurrying 
in  retreat  again. 

"  All  right,"  said  the  lieutenant.  "  They  respect 
our  weapons  and  see  we  do  not  fear  theirs.  Maybe 
they'll  let  us  take  our  way." 

However,  when  he  and  Stub  proceeded  on  the 
trail  for  the  stockade,  on  came  the  two  horsemen 
in  another  charge.  The  lieutenant  ordered  a  face- 
about — and  away  the  two  scampered,  as  before. 
This  game  was  repeated  several  times.  The  stockade 
was  not  in  sight,  and  the  lieutenant  was  growing 
angry. 

"  We'll  make  an  end  to  this,  Stub."  His  face 
had  flushed.  "  }  Jo  not  propose  to  be  badgered.  It 
is  beneath  the  dignity  of  an  American  officer  and 
soldier  to  be  toyed  with  in  such  child's  play.  Pay 
no  further  attention  to  them  until  we  round  that 
shoulder  yonder.  Then  we'll  slip  into  a  ravine  there 
and  see  if  we  can't  lure  them  to  close  quarters  that 
will  bring  them  to  account." 

It  was  back-tickling  work,  to  trudge  on,  never 
turning,  with  those  lances  threatening,  closer  and 

262 


VISITORS  FROM  THE  SOUTH 

closer,  behind.  But  the  lieutenant  gave  no  sign—- 
until, when  around  the  shoulder  and  for  a  moment 
out  of  sight  by  the  pursuit,  he  sprang  aside. 

"Quick,  now!" 

They  dived  for  cover  and  found  it  in  a  heap  of 
large,  brush-screened  rocks.  They  waited,  peering 
and  listening.  Pretty  soon  they  might  hear  the 
hoofs  of  the  horses.  The  two  riders  cantered  into 
sight.  They  were  quite  near.  One  was  black- 
bearded — wore  a  large  ribboned  hat  and  blue  and  red 
coat  and  leathern  leggins,  the  same  as  Lieutenant 
Melgares'  soldiers  had  worn.  He  was  a  Spanish 
dragoon.  He  carried  a  lance,  a  shield  and  short 
muskatoon  or  escopeta  hung  at  his  saddle. 

The  other  was  dark,  without  whiskers:  an  In- 
dian. He  wore  a  blue  cotton  shirt  and  leggins 
wrapped  in  white  from  moccasins  to  knees.  His 
hair  fell  in  two  braids.  He,  also,  carried  a  lance  and 
shield. 

They  saw  nobody  ahead  of  them,  and  began  to 
move  cautiously,  craning,  and  checking  their  horses. 
Little  by  little  they  came  on.  Now  they  were  within 
forty  paces. 

"  This  will  do,"  the  lieutenant  whispered.  "  We 
have  them.  Lay  down  your  pistol  and  stand  up 

so  they  can  see  you're  unarmed.     Then  walk  out. 

263 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

I'll  follow  and  cover  them.  If  they  show  sign  of 
harm,  I'll  fire  upon  them  instantly." 

Stub  bravely  stood  into  full  view  and  spread 
his  empty  hands.  He  was  not  afraid;  not  while 
Lieutenant  Pike  was  backing  him. 

The  two  horsemen  were  completely  surprised. 
They  reined  in  and  sat  poised  and  gawking,  on  the 
verge  of  flight.  But  the  lieutenant's  gun  muzzle  held 
them  fast,  while  Stub  walked  toward  them,  his  hand 
up  in  the  peace  sign.  The  lieutenant  called : 

"Amigos  (Friends)!  Americanos  (Ameri- 
cans) ! "  And  he  must  have  beckoned,  for  the  two 
timidly  edged  forward,  ready  to  run  or  to  fight.  Evi- 
dently they  would  rather  run. 

The  lieutenant  advanced  also,  and  joined  Stub. 

"  Take  your  pistol.  Here  it  is.  We'll  talk  with 
them.  Do  you  know  Spanish  ?  " 

"  I've  forgotten,"  Stub  stammered. 

"We'll  manage  with  signs  and  the  few  words 
we  do  know.  At  the  same  time  we  must  stand  pre- 
pared to  fire." 

"  Where  are  you  from  ?  "  he  queried  sharply,  in 
French. 

The  dragoon  seemed  to  understand. 

"  From  Santa  Fe,  senor." 

"  How  f ar  is  Santa  Fe?" 

"  Three  days  as  we  come,  senor." 
264 


VISITORS  FROM  THE  SOUTH 

"  What  are  you  doing  here?  " 

"We  hunt." 

They  got  off  their  horses,  and  led  them  in  nearer ; 
then  they  smiled  friendly,  and  sat  down  and  rolled 
themselves  smokes.  The  lieutenant  and  Stub  warily 
sat  down,  opposite.  It  was  a  little  (council.  Stub 
eyed  the  Indian.  He  was  a  tame  Indian — one  of  the 
house-building  Indians  from  the  south :  a  Pueblo. 

"What  do  you  hunt?"  asked  Lieutenant  Pike. 

"  Game,  senor.     Do  you  hunt,  also?  " 

"  We  travel  down  the  Red  River,  to  the  American 
fort  of  Natchitoches." 

"Another  stranger  has  arrived,  in  Santa  Fe. 
His  name  is  Robinson.  He  is  an  American.  The 
governor  received  him  well.  He  comes  from  your 
party?" 

"  There  is  no  such  man  in  my  party,"  the  lieu- 
tenant answered ;  which  was  true,  now. 

Presently  he  arose.  It  was  difficult  talking  by 
signs  and  short  words. 

"  A  Dios,  senores.    A  pleasant  journey  to  you." 
"  One  moment,  senor,"  begged  the  dragoon. 
"  Where  is  your  camp  ?  " 

"  It  is  far.;  we  have  several  camps.    So  good-by." 

He  and  Stub  started  on.  But  the  dragoon  and 
the  Indian  mounted  their  horses  and  followed.  They 
were  determined  to  find  the  camp. 

265 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

"  They  are  spies,"  said  the  lieutenant.  "  We  can- 
not get  rid  of  them  without  trouble,  and  I  have 
orders  to  avoid  trouble.  We  shall  have  to  take 
them  in." 

So  he  and  Stub  waited,  and  it  was  just  as  well, 
for  soon  the  regular  trail  up  river  to  the  stockade 
was  reached;  the  two  horsemen  struck  into  it,  and 
forged  ahead,  peering  eagerly.  The  trail  crossed 
the  fork  above  the  stockade — and  the  first  thing  the 
two  horsemen  knew  they  were  stopped  in  short  order 
by  Alex  Roy  who  was  posted  as  sentinel. 

That  astonished  them  again.  They  could  just 
glimpse  the  stockade,  they  heard  Alex  challenge 
them,  and  saw  his  gun — and  ducking  and  dodging 
they  raced  back,  to  the  lieutenant. 

"  Do  not  fear.    Come,"  he  spoke. 

He  led  them  on;  they  left  their  horses  outside, 
and,  still  frightened,  followed  him  and  Stub  through 
an  opening  in  the  stockade,  which  was  being  used 
until  the  ditch  and  the  hole  were  ready. 

They  stayed  all  that  day.  The  men  had  orders 
to  watch  them,  but  not  to  talk  with  them.  They 
stared  about  as  much  as  they  could.  They  asked 
several  times  where  the  Americans*  horses  were,  and 
how  many  men  the  lieutenant  had.  Lieutenant  Pike 
said  that  these  were  only  a  part  of  his  men,  and 
that  he  had  marched  without  horses,  through  the 

266 


VISITORS  FROM  THE  SOUTH 

snow.  He  was  going  down  the  Red  River,  holding 
councils  with  the  Indians  on  the  borders  of  the 
United  States.  If  the  governor  at  Santa  Fe  would 
send  somebody  who  spoke  good  French  or  English, 
he  would  explain  everything. 

The  dragoon  and  the  Pueblo  did  not  believe; 
and  when  they  rode  away  in  the  morning  they  were 
as  suspicious  as  ever.  They  said  they  would  be  in 
Santa  Fe  in  two  days  with  the  lieutenant's  message 
to  the  governor,  whose  name  was  Don  Joaquin  del 
Real  Alencaster.  The  lieutenant  had  given  them  a 
few  presents,  which  appeared  to  please  them.  The 
Pueblo  gave  the  lieutenant  some  deer  meat,  part 
of  a  goose,  a  sack  of  meal  and  pieces  of  flat,  hard- 
baked  bread. 

Everybody  was  glad  to  see  them  go,  but 

"  It's  an  ill  wind  that  brought  'em,"  Sergeant 
Meek  remarked.  "  Not  blaming  him  or  the  cap'n, 
the  doctor  did  it.  To  be  sure  the  Spanish  would 
set  out  to  s'arch  the  country.  Unless  I'm  mistaken, 
we'll  see  more  of  'em." 

The  lieutenant  thought  the  same.  He  ordered 
that  the  work  of  finishing  the  stockade  be  rushed, 
and  even  lent  a  hand  himself.  He  had  no  idea 
of  leaving  until  Hugh,  and  John  Sparks  and 

Tom,  across  the  mountains,  and  Baroney  and  Pat 

267 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

Smith,  on  the  Arkansaw  with  the  horses,  had  been 
brought  in. 

It  was  high  time  that  Corporal  Jerry  and  party 
turned  up.  They  had  been  gone  a  long  while,  and 
were  needed.  Five  men  and  a  boy  were  a  small 
garrison.  This  evening  Corporal  Jerry,  with  John 
Brown,  William  Gordon  and  John  Mountjoy,  did 
arrive.  After  he  had  reported  to  the  lieutenant,  he 
told  his  story  to  the  rest  of  them. 

"  Yes,  we  found  Hugh,  but  we  had  to  cross  in 
snow  middle  deep,  to  do  it  He's  comin'  on  with 
Freegift.  They'll  be  down  to-morrow.  We  went 
back  to  Sparks  an*  Dougherty,  too." 

"Ho  ware  they?" 

"  Bad  off.  Ah,  boys,  'twould  melt  your  hearts 
to  see  'em.  They  sheer  wept  when  we  hailed  'em. 
They've  got  food  enough  yet,  even  after  the  near 
two  months ;  but  they  can  scarce  walk  a  step.  Their 
feet  are  gone,  an'  they've  hardly  a  finger  between 
'em.  So  we  couldn't  move  'em;  not  through  the 
snow  of  the  passes.  We  did  what  we  could  to  cheer 
'em  up,  but  when  we  left  they  acted  like  they  never 
expected  to  see  us  again.  Yes;  an'  they  sent  over 
bones  from  their  feet,  for  the  cap'n,  an'  made  me 
promise  to  give  'em  to  him  as  a  token  an'  to  beg 
him,  by  all  that's  sacred,  not  to  let  the  two  of  'em 
die  like  beasts,  alone  in  the  wilds.  When  I  gave 

268 


VISITORS  FROM  THE  SOUTH 

him  the  bones  an'  told  him,  he  turned  white  an'  his 
eyes  filled  up.  '  They  should  know  me  better  than 
that/  said  he.  '  Never  would  I  abandon  them.  To 
restore  them  to  their  homes  and  their  country  again 
I'd  carry  the  end  of  a  litter,  myself,  through  snow 
and  mountains  for  months.' ' 

"  He'd  do  it,"  asserted  Sergeant  Meek.  "  And 
so  would  any  of  us.  Bones  from  their  feet,  is  it? 
Who  but  a  soldier  would  lose  the  smallest  joint  for 
such  a  pittance  of  pay,  even  to  serve  his  country? 
Surely  the  Government  won't  lose  sight  o'  men  like 
poor  John  and  Tom." 

The  lieutenant  took  prompt  measures.  The  news 
from  the  back  trail  had  affected  him  sorely.  This 
same  evening  he  approached  the  men  who  were 
sitting  around  the  fire.  They  sprang  up,  to  attention. 

"  You  have  heard  of  the  condition  of  Sparks  and 
Dougherty,"  he  addressed.  "  They  must  be  brought 
in  at  once,  with  all  possible  speed."  He  paused,  as 
if  planning. 

Sergeant  Meek  saluted. 

"  One  man  and  myself  will  take  the  trip,  sir,  with 
your  permission.  Jest  give  us  the  word,  sir." 

"  I'm  with  you,  sergeant,"  blurted  Terry  Miller. 

"  None  better,"  accepted  the  sergeant.  "  We'll 
go  on  back  to  the  Arkansaw,  cap'n,  for  the  hosses. 

269 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

And  with  the  hosses  we'll  pick  up  John  and  Tom, 
and  if  they  can't  ride  we'll  sling  'em  in  litters." 

Lieutenant  Pike  colored  with  pleasure. 

"  That  is  handsome  of  you,  sergeant ;  and  of  you, 
Miller.  You  will  march  as  soon  as  Stout  and 
Menaugh  get  in,  and  we  can  make  the  preparations. 
Your  volunteering  for  a  journey  afoot  of  almost 
two  hundred  miles  over  two  ranges  of  mountains 
waist  deep  in  snow,  at  the  risk  of  encountering  sav- 
ages, and  soldiers  of  a  nation  that  may  not  be 
friendly,  is  worthy  of  the  uniform  that  you  have 


worn." 


"  By  your  leave,  sir,  there  are  some  others  who'd 
be  proud  to  share  the  honor  with  the  sergeant  and 
Terry,"  spoke  up  Jake  Carter,  crippled  though  he 
was.  "I'll  answer  for  my  feet,  sir.  They'll  carry 
me,  once  I  limber  'em  up." 

"Two  will  be  enough.  I'm  sorry  that  I  can't 
spare  more,  my  man.  I  see  that  if  you  all  had  your 
way  you'd  leave  me  without  a  garrison/' 

Sergeant  Meek  and  Terry  felt  highly  tickled  at 
having  got  in  ahead  of  the  rest 

The  next  morning  Hugh  and  Freegift  arrived 
all  right.  The  other  two  were  to  start  early  on  the 
morrow.  Ten  pounds  of  deer  meat  apiece  was  all 

that  might  be  spared  them ;  they  said  it  was  plenty — 

270 


VISITORS  FROM  THE  SOUTH 

they  had  to  travel  light,  anyway,  and  would  hunt 
as  they  went. 

The  lieutenant,  with  Corporal  Jackson,  John 
Mount  joy  and  William  Gordon  and  Stub,  walked 
with  them  for  six  miles,  so  that  they  might  be  shown 
a  better  pass  for  the  horses,  than  the  one  used  by 
the  corporal.  Jerry  had  reported  that  his  pass  was 
four  feet  deep  with  snow,  during  three  days'  travel. 

After  the  sergeant  and  Terry  had  trudged  on, 
the  others  killed  a  deer;  Stub  and  Corporal  Jerry 
were  sent  back  with  it,  to  the  stockade,  but  the  lieu- 
tenant took  John  and  Bill  with  him,  on  a  farther 
scout,  down  the  east  side  of  the  main  river. 

They  were  gone  all  day  and  the  night.  When 
they  came  in,  the  next  afternoon,  they  said  that  they 
had  discovered  fresh  signs  of  men  and  horses,  south. 
The  lieutenant  called  the  garrison  together  and  issued 
strict  orders.  The  two  spies  had  left  five  days  ago ; 
and  if  Santa  Fe  was  only  two  days'  march  distant, 
soldiers  from  there  were  likely  to  appear  at  any 
moment  now. 

"  We  must  especially  watch  out  for  Indians,  my 
lads,"  he  directed.  "  The  tribes  hereabouts  are 
doubtless  under  the  influence  of  the  Spanish  govern- 
ment in  New  Mexico.  When  any  strangers  are 
sighted  loitering  about  or  passing,  you  are  to  retire 
unobserved,  if  possible.  If  they  see  you,  you  are 

271 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

not  to  run,  however,  nor  permit  them  to  approach 
you  with  the  idea  of  disarming  you  or  taking  you 
prisoner.  Should  you  be  unable  to  evade  them,  you 
are  to  guard  your  liberty  and  bring  them  to  the  fort, 
where  I  will  attend  to  them." 

A  sentry  was  posted  all  day  on  the  top  of  a  hill 
at  the  edge  of  the  stockade  prairie,  from  where  he 
had  a  fine  view  up  and  down  the  fork  and  along  the 
main  river  also.  During  the  nights  another  sentry 
kept  watch  from  one  of  the  bastions  or  little  block- 
houses on  the  land-side  corners  of  the  stockade. 

The  stockade  had  been  enclosed  by  the  log  walls, 
the  pickets  had  been  planted,  and  within  a  day  or  two 
the  outside  ditch  would  be  ready  for  the  water. 

On  February  24  the  lieutenant  took  Stub  again 
upon  another  scout  and  hunt.  The  two  spies  had 
been  gone  seven  days,  and  nothing  had  been  heard 
from  them.  He  was  getting  nervous  while  waiting 
for  the  sergeant  and  Terry  to  return  with  the  horses, 
Baroney,  Pat,  and  John  and  Tom.  Meat  was  low; 
the  men  themselves  had  been  too  busy  to  hunt — but 
the  water  was  in  the  ditch  and  everything  was  snug 
and  shipshape. 

He  and  Stub  were  out  two  days,  scouting  east- 
ward, to  examine  the  traveled  road  along  which  the 
Spanish  might  come.  They  made  a  circle  and  arrived 

27* 


VISITORS  FROM  THE  SOUTH 

"  home,"  lugging  the  meat  of  three  deer,  about  nine 
o'clock  at  night. 

Corporal  Jerry  greeted  them,  after  the  challenge 
of  Freegift  Stout,  who  was  the  guard  in  the  bastion. 

"  We  were  beginnin'  to  be  scared  for  you,  sir," 
he  said.  "  We  didn't  know  but  what  the  Injuns  or 
the  Spanish  had  taken  you." 

"  All  quiet  here,  corporal?  " 

"Yes,  sir;  all  quiet." 

"  That's  good.  We'd  have  been  back  sooner, 
only  we  hunted  farther  than  we  intended,  and  had 
heavy  loads  to  pack  in.  Now  if  the  other  men  with 
the  horses  return  in  safety,  we  may  all  march  on 
unmolested,  through  American  territory." 

But  in  the  morning,  while  they  were  at  break- 
fast, the  musket  of  John  Brown,  on  the  hill,  sounded 
— "  Boom !  "  It  was  a  signal :  "  Strangers  in  sight." 
Corporal  Jerry  dropped  his  knife  and  bolted  into  a 
bastion,  to  look.  Everybody  paused,  to  learn  the 
news. 

Back  ran  Corporal  Jerry,  to  the  lieutenant,  who 
was  standing  at  the  entrance  to  his  brush  lean-to, 
buckling  on  his  sword. 

"  Two  men  are  crossin'  the  prairie  for  the  fort, 
sir.  Menaugh  (Hugh  was  the  sentinel  pacing  out- 
side) is  about  to  stop  'em." 

273 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

"  See  what  they  have  to  say.  And  if  there  are 
no  more,  admit  them,"  ordered  the  lieutenant 

Away  ran  Corporal  Jerry,  for  already  Hugh  was 
calling  for  the  corporal  of  the  guard,  while  holding 
off  the  two  strangers. 


XIX 

IN  THE  HANDS  OF  THE  SPANIARDS 

IN  a  few  minutes  the  two  strangers  crawled 
through  the  hole.  They  were  clad  in  blanket-coats  and 
deer-hide  trousers  and  fur  caps ;  looked  like  French 
traders — -and  Frenchmen  they  proved  to  be,  for  the 
lieutenant  called  to  them,  in  French,  "  Come  here," 
and  he  and  they  talked  together  in  that  language. 

Stub  might  catch  only  a  word  now  and  then; 
the  men  listened,  puzzled,  prepared  to  grasp  their 
stacked  guns. 

The  lieutenant  finished  the  conversation.  The 
Frenchmen  bowed  politely  again,  he  saluted  them 
and  spoke  to  his  party. 

"  These  are  two  Frenchmen  from  Santa  Fe, 
lads,"  he  said.  "  They  inform  me  that  the  governor 
of  New  Mexico  is  fearful  of  an  attack  upon  us  by  the 
Utah  Indians,  and  has  sent  a  detachment  of  fifty 
dragoons  for  our  protection.  The  detachment  is 
within  two  days'  march  of  us.  You  know  your 
duty.  I  rely  upon  you  to  act  in  a  manner  that  will 
reflect  credit  upon  our  Country." 

Scarcely  had  he  spoken  when  they  all  heard 
the  sentinels  outside  hailing  loudly,  with  "Halt! 

275 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

Who  comes  there?   Corp'ral  of  the  guar-rd!    Post 
Number  One!" 

Out  dived  Corporal  Jerry,  once  more. 

"  To  arms !  Man  the  works,  men !  "  the  lieu- 
tenant rapped. 

They  grabbed  guns  and  hustled  for  the  plat- 
forms under  the  loopholes.  There  were  more  loop- 
holes than  men.  Peeping  through  his,  Stub  might 
see  out  into  the  prairie  before  the  stockade.  From 
up  the  fork  a  large  body  of  mounted  soldiers  had 
ridden  into  the  edge  of  the  clearing.  John  Brown, 
who  had  come  in  from  his  hill,  and  Hugh  Menaugh 
were  holding  them  back,  Corporal  Jerry  was  hasten- 
ing to  the  scene. 

The  lieutenant  also  had  seen. 

"  That  is  the  company?  "  he  demanded,  of  the 
two  Frenchmen. 

"  Oui,  Monsieur  Lieutenant." 

"Tell  the  commander  with  my  compliments  to 
leave  his  men  in  the  woods  where  he  now  is,  and  I 
will  meet  him  on  the  prairie  before  the  fort." 

"  Oui,  oui." 
'  Out  went  the  two  Frenchmen. 

"They  look  like  a  hundred,"  remarked  Jake 
Carter.  "We're  only  eight,  and  an  officer  an*  a 
boy.  But  what's  the  difference? " 

"  Sure,  in  case  of  a  dust,  Meek  and  Terry  an' 
276 


IN  THE  HANDS  OF  THE  SPANIARDS 

the  rest  of  'em  will  be  sorry  to  miss  it"  replied  soldier 
Mount  joy. 

"  Hooray  for  a  brush,  if  that's  the  word.  We're 
«qual  to  it,  no  matter  how  many  they  send  ag'in  us." 

The  men  were  keen  for  a  fight.  'Twas  a  great 
thing,  thought  Stub,  to  be  an  American.  But  the 
Spanish  soldiers,  halted  at  the  edge  of  the  prairie 
within  short  gunshot,  looked  strong.  About  fifty,  in 
one  body,  were  the  dragoons ;  fifty  appeared  to  be  a 
mixture — a  part  Indians.  But  all  were  well  armed 
with  short  muskets,  pistols,  swords,  lances  and 
shields — some  in  one  style,  some  in  another. 

The  lieutenant  had  left  and  was  striding  into  the 
prairie,  to  meet  two  Spanish  officers.  He  had  taken 
only  his  sword,  by  his  side.  That  would  show  his 
rank,  for  his  clothes  certainly  did  not  Nevertheless, 
the  two  Spanish  officers,  all  in  their  heavy  crimson 
cloaks,  and  decorated  hats,  and  long  boots,  did  not 
look  any  more  gallant  than  he  in  his  ragged  bknket- 
coat,  torn  trousers,  moccasins  and  fur-lined  be- 
draggled makeshift  cap. 

The  three  saluted,  and  talked  for  a  short  time. 
Beyond,  at  the  timber,  the  horses  pawed  and  snorted. 
Corporal  Jerry  and  the  two  sentries  stayed,  vigi- 
lant. At  the  loopholes,  inside  the  stockade,  the  five 
men  and  Stub  peered,  ready. 

Presently  one  of  the  Spanish  officers  shouted  a 
277 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

command  to  the  soldiers ;  they  relaxed,  at  ease — some 
dismounted,  to  stretch  their  legs;  he  and  the  other 
officer  followed  Lieutenant  Pike  to  the  stockade. 

"  No  fight,  hey?  "  uttered  Alex  Roy. 

"  But  no  surrender,  either,  you  can  bet,"  grunted 
Freegift.  "  The  cap'n  likely  has  something  up  his 
sleeve." 

The  lieutenant  entered,  through  the  hole ;  the  two 
Spanish  officers  crawled  in  after — and  an  odd  sight 
they  made  as  they  straightened  up,  to  stare  about 
them  curiously.  It  was  plain  that  they  were  much 
astonished  by  the  completeness  of  the  trap. 

The  lieutenant  led  the  two  officers  to  his  brush 
shelter.  Stub  heard  his  own  name  called — the  lieu- 
tenant beckoned  to  him.  So  he  jumped  down  and 
went  over. 

"  These  two  gentlemen  of  the  Spanish  army  of 
New  Mexico  are  to  be  my  guests  at  breakfast,  boy," 
said  the  lieutenant.  "  I  wish  you  to  serve  us.  Bring 
out  the  best  we  have.  The  provisions  given  me  by 
the  Indian  we  met  can  now  be  put  to  good  use." 

It  was  fortunate  indeed  that  the  lieutenant  had 
saved  the  meal,  goose  and  pieces  of  bread  particu- 
larly. They  were  a  treat — although  doubtless  the 
Spanish  soldiers  were  used  to  even  that  fare.  At 
any  rate,  most  of  the  stuff  soon  disappeared,  washed 
down  by  water,  after  the  table  had  been  set,  so  to 
speak. 

278 


IN  THE  HANDS  OF  THE  SPANIARDS 

The  lieutenant  and  his  guests  chatted  in  French. 
When  they  had  finished  eating,  and  the  two  Spanish 
officers  had  wiped  their  moustaches  with  fine  white 
handkerchiefs,  the  lieutenant  said,  crisply : 

"  Have  I  the  pleasure  to  understand  that  this 
is  a  friendly  call  upon  me  by  his  Majesty's  troops,  at 
the  instance  of  the  New  Mexico  government?  " 

The  elder  officer  coughed.    He  answered  politely : 

"Senor,  the  Governor  of  New  Mexico,  being 
informed  that  you  have  missed  your  route,  has 
ordered  me  to  offer  you  in  his  name  mules,  horses, 
money,  or  whatever  you  may  need,  for  the  purpose  of 
conducting  you  to  the  head  of  the  Red  River.  From 
Santa  Fe  that  is  eight  days'  journey,  before  open 
to  navigation.  We  have  guides  and  know  the 
routes." 

"  What !  Missed  my  route,  sir?  Is  not  this  the 
Red  River?" 

"  No,  senor.  This  is  the  Rio  Grande  del  Norte, 
of  New  Mexico.  The  Red  River  is  many  leagues  to 
the  southeast." 

The  lieutenant  flushed  red.  His  thin  hands 
clinched,  and  he  gazed  bewildered. 

"  Impossible.  Why  was  I  not  told  this  by  those 
two  men  ten  days  ago,  and  I  would  have  with- 
drawn? " 

The  officer  twirled  his  moustache  and  shrugged 
his  shoulders. 

979 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

"  Quien  sabe  (Who  knows),  Sefior  Don  Lieuten- 
ant? But  I  now  have  the  honor  to  inform  you,  and 
am  at  your  service." 

The  lieutenant  recovered,  and  stepped  outside  a 
few  paces. 

"Stout!" 

"  Yes,  sir." 

"  Lower  the  flag  and  roll  it  up.  It  will  not  be 
hoisted  again  without  my  orders." 

"  Sir?  "  Freegi ft  stammered.    And 

"Oh,  no,  sir!  Not  that!  Not  haul  down  the 
flag!  Let  us  keep  it  flyin',  sir.  We  can  do  it" 

Those  were  the  cries.  The  lieutenant  lifted  his 
hand. 

"  Silence.  I  thank  you,  men.  This  is  not  sur- 
render,. I  have  no  thought  of  surrender.  But  we 
are  not  upon  the  Red  River.  We  are  upon  the  Rio 
del  Norte,  in  Mexican  territory,  and  in  courtesy  to 
that  government  I  am  lowering  the  flag  of  my  own 
free-will.  By  building  this  stockade  we  have  unwit- 
tingly trespassed."  * 

*  All  the  Rio  Grande  River  which  flows  southward  through 
south  central  Colorado  into  New  Mexico  was  Spanish  terri- 
tory. The  Lieutenant  Pike  party  had  crossed  the  Sangre  de 
Cristo  Range  and  had  struck  the  Rio  Grande  near  present 
Alamosa  in  the  southern  half  of  Colorado's  great  San  Luis 
Park  or  Valley.  The  largest  of  the  White  Mountains,  on  the 
east,  was  Sierra  Blanca  ("White  Mountain"  today),  altitude 
14,390  feet,  ranking  third  among  the  peaks  of  the  Rockies. 

280 


IN  THE  HANDS  OF  THE  SPANIARDS 

The  men  muttered ;  the  two  visiting  officers  sat 
uneasy ;  but  Freegift  lowered  the  flag,  caught  it  in  his 
arms,  and-  with  rather  a  black  glance  at  the  red 
cloaks  folded  it  carefully. 

"  By  thunder,  when  we  raise  it  ag'in,  it'll  stay," 
he  grumbled,  as  he  went  to  stow  it  away. 

"His  Excellency  Governor  Alencaster  requests 
the  pleasure  of  a  talk  with  you  at  Santa  Fe,  sefior," 
said  the  elder  officer,  with  a  smile,  to  the  lieutenant. 
"  He  is  desirous  of  entertaining  you  arid  learning 
the  story  of  your  journey.  For  your  accommodation 
he  has  provided  me  with  one  hundred  animals,  to 
carry  your  baggage." 

"  I  thank  His  Excellency,  butjt  js  impossible  for 
me  to  accept  the  invitation,"  replied  Lieutenant  Pike, 
seating  himself  again.  "  I  can  only  send  him  my 
apologies  for  trespassing,  by  mistake,  upon  his  do- 
main. I  will  wait  here  merely  until  the  return  of 
my  sergeant  and  the  remainder  of  my  company,  and 
then  withdraw  at  once  to  American  soil.  My  orders 
forbid  me  entering  into  Spanish  territory." 

From  the  camp  at  the  river  the  Pike  men  had  travelled  south, 
and  built  their  stockade  about  five  miles  up  the  Conejos 
(Rabbits)  River,  which  enters  the  Rio  Grande  from  the  west 
Did  he  know  this  to  be  the  Rio  Grande  del  Norte,  or  did  he 
really  think  it  to  be  the  Red  River  ?  Why  did  he  stop  in  what 
was  certainly  Spanish  territory?  Did  he  wish  to  be  captured? 
Or  did  he  only  take  a  chance?  Historians  have  puzzled  over 
this  ever  since. 

281 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

"  His  Excellency  will  be  much  distressed  not 
to  see  you,  sefior,"  the  officer  insisted.  "  I  must 
beg  of  you  to  take  advantage  of  our  escort.  Other- 
wise I  cannot  answer  for  your  safety." 

At  this,  the  lieutenant  straightened,  and  his  eyes 
flashed. 

"  My  safety  will  be  attended  to,  sir.  I  shall  not 
move  until  the  safety  of  my  sergeant  and  party,  some 
of  whom  may  be  suffering,  is  assured  also.  Do  I 
understand  that  your  intent  is  to  use  force  to  convey 
me  to  the  governor? 

The  officer  spread  his  hands  and  shook  his  head. 

"  No,  no,  sefior !  Not  in  the  least.  But  it  is 
necessary  that  for  the  information  of  the  governor- 
general  the  governor  of  New  Mexico  should  receive 
from  you  personally  an  explanation  of  your  presence 
within  his  frontier,  that  he  may  send  in  the  proper 
report.  If  you  wish  to  go  with  us  now,  very  well ; 
or  if  you  wish  to  wait  for  the  return  of  your  other 
party,  very  well.  But  in  that  case  we  shall  be  obliged 
to  obtain  more  provisions  from  Santa  Fe,  and  dis- 
patch a  small  number  for  that  purpose."  Even  Stub, 
who  had  been  listening  agog,  and  catching  most  of 
the  words,  knew  that  this  meant  reinforcements. 
"  If  you  decide  to  march  with  us  now,"  the  officer 
added,  "  I  will  leave  here  an  Indian  who  speaks  En- 
glish, and  a  part  of  my  dragoons,  to  greet  your 


IN  THE  HANDS  OF  THE  SPANIARDS 

sergeant  and  escort  him  and  his  men  to  join  you  at 
Santa  Fe." 

The  lieutenant  bit  his  lip  and  fidgeted.  He  was 
of  two  minds ;  but  one  thing  was  certain :  he  could 
not  get  rid  of  these  Spanish  without  a  big  fight.  And 
the  worst  of  that  would  be,  that  he  was  an  invader 
and  had  broken  the  law. 

He  did  not  hesitate  long. 

"  I  shall  not  yield  to  force,  sir,"  he  said.  "  We 
are  American  soldiers  and  prepared  to  defend  our- 
selves, as  you  have  seen.  However,  in  consideration 
of  your  courteous  attitude  I  am  disposed  to  go  with 
your  escort  to  His  Excellency,  and  give  him  the 
explanation  that  is  due  from  one  friendly  nation  to 
another.  But  I  must  leave  two  of  my  men  here,  to 
receive  the  sergeant  and  reassure  him;  otherwise,  I 
promise  you,  he  will  not  come  on  without  a  fight, 
except  by  direct  orders  from  me/' 

"  That  is  agreed,  sefior,"  bowed  the  officer.  "And 
we  may  consider  the  matter  very  happily  settled 
You  have  my  respectful  thanks/' 

The  lieutenant's  eyes  fell  upon  Stub. 

"  Tell  Stout  to  send  Corporal  Jackson  in  to  me." 
He  spoke  to  the  Spanish  officer.  "  I  will  instruct  my 
men  to  permit  yours  to  approach,  and  would  suggest 
that  you  inform  your  company  we  are  willing  to 

receive  them  as  friends,  if  their  actions  so  warrant" 

283 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

"  Thanks,  seiior." 

Stub  sought  Freegift  Stout. 

"The  lieutenant  says  for  you  to  tell  Jerry  to 
come  in." 

Freegift  climbed  down. 

"What's  it  all  about?  Say!  Is  it  true  we're  not 
on  the  Red  River  yet,  but  on  what  they  call  the  Rio 
del  Norte?  Sure,  that's  not  so." 

"  It's  what  they  say.  The  lieutenant  believes  it. 
And  we're  going  to  Santa  Fe." 

"For  what?" 

"  The  governor  wants  to  talk  with  him." 

"  But  not  without  a  dust !  Oh,  no,  now !  Leave 
these  good  works,  an'  go  without  a  dust?  " 

Stub  nodded  soberly.  Freegift  dared  not  delay 
longer.  He  went  off  muttering.  The  other  men  also 
murmured.  The  plan  was  not  to  their  liking. 

Freegift  returned  with  Corporal  Jerry.  The  men 
trooped  after  him,  to  the  lieutenant.  Freegift  acted 
as  speaker.  He  saluted 

"  What's  this  ?  Why  have  you  left  your  posts  ?  " 
the  lieutenant  demanded. 

"  Please,  cap'n.  Beggin  your  pardon,  sir — but 
'tain't  true,  is  it,  that  were  layin'  down  our  arms  an' 
givin'  up  to  them  Spanish,  to  march  out,  an'  no 
fight  offered  ?  Sure,  sir,  we're  only  eight  and  a  boy  ; 
but  we're  behind  good  walls,  an'  you're  the  proper 

284 


IN  THE  HANDS  OF  THE  SPANIARDS 

kind  of  an  officer,  an'  'twould  be  no  great  job  at  all 
to  hold  them  fellers  off  till  we  could  slip  away  with 
colors  flyin'.  You  can't  trust  them  fellers,  sir.  An' 
if  you'll  only  give  us  the  orders,  sir,  we'll  hand  out  a 
dose  of  Yankee  Doodle;  eh,  boys?" 

"  Yes,  sir !  We're  ready  for  a  dust,  cap'n,  sir. 
We'd  rather  trust  to  our  muskets  than  to  those 
Spanish.  We're  not  afeared  of  'em." 

"  That  will  do,"  Lieutenant  Pike  answered,  but 
not  unkindly.  "  You're  brave  lads.  I  know  I  can 
depend  on  you — and  with  you  I'd  like  to  test  our 
defences  at  which  you've  worked  so  faithfully.  But 
we  are  marching  of  our  own  free  will,  and  shall 
retain  our  arms.  My  orders  are  to  avoid  a  conflict 
with  the  Mexican  forces,  unless  attacked.  Since  we 
are  unfortunately  in  Spanish  territory,  it  will  be  bet- 
ter if  we  proceed  boldly  to  the  New  Mexican  capital, 
at  the  invitation  of  the  governor,  rather  than  put 
ourselves  in  the  wrong  by  resistance." 

"  Yes,  sir.  If  you  say  so,  sir,"  they  replied,  with 
glum  faces. 

"  Corporal,  you  may  draw  the  sentries  in,"  con- 
tinued the  lieutenant  "  The  Spanish  soldiers  are 
to  be  allowed  to  move  freely  outside  of  the  works. 
Some  of  the  men  may  meet  them,  to  treat  them 
civilly,  for  I  wish  no  sign  of  suspicion  to  be  shown." 

The  two  Spanish  officers  had  gone  to  their  troops. 
285 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

A  great  cheering  arose,  from  that  direction,  as  if  the 
soldiery  had  been  told  that  there  would  be  no  fight- 
ing, and  were  heartily  glad. 

The  Spanish  flocked  forward,  into  the  prairie  in 
front  of  the  stockade.  Freegift  and  several  of  the 
other  men,  and  Stub,  did  sally  out,  curious  to  in- 
spect their  new  friends.  The  Spanish  soldiers  were 
regular  dragoons,  fifty ;  and  mounted  militia,  fifty — 
a  mixture,  these,  of  Spaniards  and  Mexicans  and 
Indians. 

And  they  were  kind  and  friendly,  indeed.  They 
brought  food  and  blankets  and  insisted  that  the 
Americans  accept.  Freegi ft  himself  finally  admitted : 

"  Well,  I'd  still  prefer  a  little  dust,  for  the  honor 
of  the  army  an'  a  proof  that  a  half-froze  American 
is  as  good  a  man  as  a  dozen  foreigners ;  but  I  don't 
deny  they're  treatin*  us  mighty  handsome,  the  same 
as  brothers-at-arms.  The  colors  of  'em  are  a  bit 
peculiar,  yet  their  hearts  seem  white." 

Toward  noon  Corporal  Jerry  sought  out  all  the 
garrison  and  called  them  together,  inside. 

"  Mount  joy,  you  an*  I  are  to  stay  here,  with 
some  of  the  Spanish,  an*  a  letter  from  the  cap'n  to 
hand  to  the  sergeant  when  he  comes.  The  rest  of 
you  are  to  get  ready  to  march  at  once.  So  good  luck 

to  you — an*  we'll  see  you  later." 

286 


IN  THE  HANDS  OF  THE  SPANIARDS 

"  That  you  will,"  they  answered.  "  And  be  sure 
you  fetch  Sparks  and  Dougherty.  They're  the  ones 
who  need  all  these  fine  fixin's." 

Horses  were  provided,  as  promised  by  the  Span- 
ish officer.  Riding  comfortably  on  these,  and 
escorted  by  fifty  of  the  dragoons  and  militia  and 
the  two  officers  (whose  names  were  Lieutenant  Don 
Ignatio  Saltelo  and  Lieutenant  Don  Bartholomew 
Fernandez),  after  dinner  they  rode  twelve  miles 
westward  up  the  fork  to  the  Spanish  camp.  Now 
they  numbered  only  Lieutenant  Pike,  Privates  Free- 
gift  Stout,  Alex  Roy,  Hugh  Menaugh,  William  Gor- 
don, Jacob  Carter,  John  Brown,  and  Jack  Pursley 
otherwise  Stub.  Corporal  Jerry  Jackson  and  Private 
John  Mountjoy  remained  at  the  stockade,  with  the 
other  fifty  Spanish  soldiers,  to  wait  for  Sergeant 
Meek,  and  Private  Terry  Miller,  who  were  bringing 
in,  across  the  mountains,  John  Sparks  and  Tom 
Dougherty  (lacking  feet  and  fingers),  Baroney  Vas- 
quez  and  interpreter,  Pat  Smith,  and  the  horses. 

Truly,  the  little  American  column  had  become 
much  scattered. 

"Jinks!  I'd  like  to  be  there  at  the  reception 
and  see  the  sergeant's  face,"  Alex  Roy  chuckled. 
"  'Specially  when  he  learns  we  ain't  been  on  the  Red 
River  at  all!" 

287 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

"  It  may  seem  like  a  joke,  but  it's  a  rough  one/' 
quoth  William  Gordon.  "  A  look  at  the  cap'n's  face 
is  enough  for  me.  To  think,  after  all  these 
months  he's  never  got  anywhere.  'Twill  be  a  great 
report  that  he'll  have  to  turn  in,  'less  he  aims  to 
1'arn  something  of  the  Spanish  country.  At  any 
rate,  we've  hauled  down  our  flag,  and  given  up 
our  fort  and  I'm  sorry  for  him.  He  deserved  better." 


XX 

STUB   REACHES^END  o'   TRAIL 

"  SANTA  FE!  The  city  of  Santa  Fe!   Behold! " 

Those  were  the  cries  adown  the  delighted  column. 
Here  they  were,  at  last;  but  this  was  the  evening  of 
the  fifth  day  since  leaving  the  camp,  and  the  distance 
was  more  than  one  hundred  and  sixty  miles.  The 
two  spies,  who  had  said  that  Santa  Fe  was  only 
two  days'  journey  from  the  stockade,  had  lied. 

The  first  stage  cf  the  trip  had  been  very  cold, 
in  deep  snow.  Then,  on  the  third  day,  or  March  i , 
they  had  emerged  into  a  country  of  warmth  and 
grass  and  buds,  at  the  first  of  the  Mexican  settle- 
ments— a  little  town  named  Aqua  Caliente  or  Warm 
Springs.  Hooray ! 

They  all,  the  Americans,  viewed  it  curiously. 
The  houses  were  low  and  one-story,  of  yellowish 
mud,  with  flat  roofs ;  grouped  close  together  so  that 
they  made  an  open  square  in  the  middle  of  the  town 
and  their  rears  formed  a  bare  wall  on  the  four  sides. 
!  'Tis  like  a  big  brick-kiln,  by  jinks/'  remarked 
Freegift.    "  Now  I  wonder  do  they  build  this  way 
for  fear  o'  the  Injuns?  " 
19  289 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

The  people  here  numbered  about  five  hundred — 
mainly  Indians  themselves,  but  tame  Indians,  Pueblos 
who  lived  in  houses,  with  a  mingling  of  Mexican 
blood.  From  the  house-tops  they  welcomed  the  col- 
umn; and  thronging  to  meet  it  they  brought  out 
food  and  other  gifts  for  the  strangers.  That  night 
there  was  a  dance,  with  the  Americans  as  guests  of 
honor. 

"If  this  is  the  way  they  treat  prisoners,"  the  men 
grinned,  "  sure,  though  some  of  us  can't  shake  our 
feet  yet,  we're  agreeable  to  the  good  intentions." 

The  same  treatment  had  occurred  all  the  way 
down  along  the  Rio  Grande  del  Norte,  through  a 
succession  of  the  flat  mud  villages.  There  had  been 
feasting,  dancing,  and  at  every  stop  the  old  women 
and  old  men  had  taken  the  Americans  into  the  houses 
and  dressed  their  frozen  feet. 

"  This  feet-washin'  and  food-givin'  makes  a  feller 
think  on  Bible  times,"  William  Gordon  asserted. 
"  The  pity  is,  that  we  didn't  ketch  up  with  that  Span- 
ish column  that  was  lookin'  for  us  and  gone  right 
home  with  'em  for  a  friendly  visit.  They'd  likely 
have  put  us  on  the  Red  River  and  have  saved  us 
our  trouble. " 

"Well,  we  ain't  turned  loose  yet,  remember," 
counseled  Hugh  Menaugh.  "  From  what  I  1'arn, 
the  Melgares  column  didn't  aim  to  entertain  us  with 

290 


STUB  REACHES  END  O'  TRAIL 

anything  more'n  a  fight.    But  now  we're  nicely  done, 
without  fightin'." 

"  Yes,  this  here  politeness  may  be  only  a  little 
celebration,"  Alex  mused.  "It's  cheap.  For  me,  I'd 
prefer  a  dust  or  two,  to  keep  us  in  trim." 

There  had  been  one  bit  of  trouble,  which  had 
proved  that  the  lieutenant,  also,  was  not  to  be  bam- 
boozled. In  the  evening,  at  the  village  named  San 
Juan,  or  St.  John,  the  men  and  Stub  were  together 
in  a  large  room  assigned  to  them,  when  the  lieutenant 
hastily  entered.  He  had  been  dining  at  the  priest's 
house,  with  Lieutenant  Bartholomew;  but  now  a 
stranger  accompanied  him — a  small,  dark,  sharp- 
faced  man. 

The  lieutenant  seemed  angry. 

"  Shut  the  door  and  bar  it,"  he  ordered,  of  John 
Brown.  Then  he  turned  on  the  stranger.  "  We 
will  settle  our  matters  here,"  he  rapped,  in  French; 
and  explained,  to  the  men :  "  This  fellow  is  a  spy, 
from  the  governor.  He  has  been  dogging  me  and 
asking  questions  in  poor  English  all  the  way  from 
the  priest's  house.  I  have  requested  him  to  speak 
in  his  own  language,  which  is  French,  but  he  under- 
stands English  and  would  pretend  that  he  is  a 
prisoner  to  the  Spanish — '  like  ourselves,'  he  alleges. 
I  have  informed  him  that  we  have  committed  no 
crime,  are  not  prisoners,  and  fear  nothing.  We  are 

291 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

free  Americans.  As  for  you,"  he  continued,  to  the 
man,  roundly,  "  I  know  you  to  be  only  a  miserable 
spy,  hired  by  the  governor  in  hopes  that  you  will 
win  my  sympathy  and  get  me  to  betray  secrets.  I 
have  nothing  to  reveal.  But  it  is  in  my  power  to 
punish  such  scoundrels  as  you  " — here  the  lieuten- 
ant drew  his  sword — "  and  if  you  now  make  the  least 
resistance  I  will  use  the  sabre  that  I  have  in  my  hand." 

"  Let  us  fix  him,  sir,"  cried  Hugh,  Freegift,  and 
the  others.  "  We'll  pay  him  an'  save  the  governor 
the  trouble." 

They  crowded  forward.  The  dark  man's  legs 
gave  out  under  him  and  down  he  flopped,  to  his 
knees. 

"  No,  senores !  For  the  love  of  God  don't  kill  me. 
I  will  confess  all."  He  was  so  frightened  that  his 
stammering  English  might  scarcely  be  understood. 
"  His  Excellency  the  governor  ordered  me  to  ask 
many  questions.  That  is  true.  And  it  is  true  that 
I  am  no  prisoner.  I  am  a  resident  of  Santa  Fe,  and 
well  treated.  The  governor  said  that  if  I  pretended 
hatred  of  the  country  you  would  be  glad  of  my 
help.  I  see  now  that  you  are  honest  men." 

"  What  is  your  name?  "  the  lieutenant  demanded. 

"  Baptiste  Lelande,  senor,  at  your  service." 

"  You  can  be  of  no  service  to  me  save  by  getting 
out  of  my  sight,"  retorted  the  lieutenant,  scornfully, 

292 


STUB  REACHES  END  O'  TRAIL 

and  clapping  his  sword  back  into  its  sheath.  "  You 
are  a  thief,  and  doubtless  depend  upon  the  governor 
for  your  safety.  Tell  His  Excellency  that  the  next 
time  he  employs  spies  upon  us  he  should  choose 
those  of  more  skill  and  sense,  but  that  I  question 
whether  he  can  find  any  such,  to  do  that  kind  of 
work.  Now  begone." 

John  Brown  opened  the  door.  The  man  scuttled 
out. 

"  My  lads,"  spoke  the  lieutenant,  when  the  door 
had  been  closed  again,  "  this  is  the  second  time  that 
I  have  been  approached  by  spies,  on  the  march.  On 
the  first  occasion  I  assumed  to  yield,  and  contented 
the  rascal  by  giving  into  his  keeping  a  leaf  or  two 
copied  from  my  journel — which  in  fact  merely  re- 
counted the  truth  as  to  our  number  and  our  setting 
forth  from  the  Missouri  River.  The  fellow  could 
not  read,  and  is  treasuring  the  paper,  for  the  eyes  of 
the  governor.  If  I  am  to  be  plagued  this  way,  I 
fear  that  my  baggage  or  person  may  be  searched,  and 
my  records  obtained  by  our  long  toil  be  stolen.  Ac- 
cordingly I  shall  trust  in  you,  knowing  that  you  will 
not  fail  me.  I  have  decided  to  distribute  my  im- 
portant papers  among  you,  that  you  may  carry  them 
on  your  persons,  out  of  sight." 

So  he  did. 

"  They'll  be  ready  for  you  when  you  want  em, 
293 


.LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

cap'n,  sir,"  Freegift  promised,  as  the  men  stowed 
the  papers  underneath  their  shirts.  "If  the  Spanish 
want  'em,  they'll  have  to  take  our  skins  at  the  same 
time." 

"  That  they  will,"  was  the  chorus. 

"  To  the  boy  here  I  consign  the  most  important 
article  of  all,"  pursued  the  lieutenant,  "  because  he 
is  the  least  likely  to  be  molested.  It  is  my  journal 
of  the  whole  trip.  If  that  were  lost,  much  of  our 
labors  would  have  been  thrown  away.  I  can  rely 
on  you  to  keep  it  safe,  Stub?  " 

"  Yes,  sir."  And  Stub  also  stowed  away  his 
charge — a  thin  book  with  stained  red  covers,  in  which 
the  lieutenant  had  so  frequently  written,  at  night. 

"  We  will  arrive  at  Santa  Fe  to-morrow,  lads," 
the  lieutenant  had  warned.  "  And  if  my  baggage  is 
subjected  to  a  search  by  order  of  the  governor,  I 
shall  feel  safe  regarding  my  papers." 

Presently  he  left. 

"  Lalande,  the  nincompoop  was,  was  he?"  re- 
marked Jake  Carter.  "  Well,  he  got  his  come-up- 
ments.  But  ain't  he  the  same  that  the  doctor  was 
lookin'  for — the  sly  one  who  skipped  off  with  a 
trader's  goods?  " 

"  So  what  more  could  be  expected,  than  dirty 
work,  from  the  likes !  "  Hugh  proposed. 

The  lieutenant  fared  so  heartily  at  the  priest's 
294 


STUB  REACHES  END  0'  TRAIL 

house  that  this  night  he  was  ill.  In  the  morning, 
which  was  that  of  March  3,  they  all  had  ridden  on 
southward,  led  by-  him  and  by  the  pleasant  Don 
Lieutenant  Bartholomew.  They  had  passed  through 
several  more  villages,  one  resembling  another ;  and  in 
the  sunset,  after  crossing  a  high  mesa  or  flat  table- 
land covered  with  cedars,  at  the  edge  they  had 
emerged  into  view  of  Santa  Fe,  below. 

"  Santa  Fe!  La  ciudad  muy  grande  (The  great 
city)!  Mira  (See)!" 

Those  were  the  urgent  exclamations  from  the 
dragoons  and  militia. 

"  'Great  city/  they  say?  "  Hugh  uttered,  to  Stub. 
"  Huh !  Faith,  it  looks  like  a  fleet  o'  flatboats,  left 
dry  an'  waitin'  for  a  spring  rise!  "  . 

It  was  larger  than  the  other  villages  or  towns, 
and  lay  along  both  flanks  of  a  creek.  There  were 
two  churches,  one  with  two  round-topped  steeples; 
but  all  the  other  buildings  were  low  and  flat-roofed 
and  ugly,  ranged  upon  three  or  four  narrow  crooked 
streets.  At  this  side  of  the  town  there  appeared  to 
be  the  usual  square,  surrounded  by  the  mud  build- 
ings. Yes,  the  two-steepled  church  fronted  upon  it. 

As  they  rode  down  from  the  mesa,  by  the  road 
that  they  had  been  following,  the  town  seemed  to 
wake  up.  They  could  hear  shouting,  and  might  see 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

people  running  afoot  and  galloping  horseback,  mak- 
ing for  the  square. 

A  bevy  of  young  men,  gaily  dressed,  raced, 
ahorse,  to  meet  the  column.  The  whole  town  evi- 
dently knew  that  the  Americans  were  coming.  The 
square  was  filled  with  excited  men,  women  and  chil- 
dren, all  chattering  and  staring. 

Lieutenant  Bartholomew  cleared  the  way  through 
them,  and  halted  in  front  of  a  very  long,  low  build- 
ing, with  a  porch  supported  on  a  row  of  posts  made 
of  small  logs,  and  facing  the  square,  opposite  the 
church.  He  swung  off.  The  dragoons  and  militia 
kept  the  crowd  back. 

Lieutenant  Pike,  in  his  old  clothes,  swung  off. 

"  Dismount !  "  he  called.  "  We  are  to  enter  here, 
lads.  Bear  yourselves  boldly.  We  are  American 
soldiers,  and  have  nothing  to  fear." 

He  strode  on,  firm  and  erect,  following  the  guid- 
ance of  Lieutenant  Bartholomew. 

"Keep  together,"  Freegift  cautioned;  and  the 
men  pushed  after,  trying  not  to  limp,  and  to  carry 
their  army  muskets  easily.  Stub  brought  up  the 
tail  of  the  little  procession.  He,  too,  was  an  Ameri- 
can, and  proud  of  it,  no  matter  how  they  all  looked, 
without  hats,  in  rags  and  moccasins,  the  hair  of 
heads  and  faces  long. 

They  entered  the  long-fronted  building.  The 
296 


STUB  REACHES  END  O'  TRAIL 

doorway  was  a  full  four  feet  thick.  The  interior 
was  gloomy,  lighted  by  small  deep-set  windows  with 
dirty  panes.  There  was  a  series  of  square,  low-ceil- 
inged  rooms — "  'Tis  like  a  dungeon,  eh?"  Freegift 
flung  back — but  the  earth  floors  were  strewn  with  the 
pelts  of  buffalo,  bear,  panther,  what-not. 

They  were  halted  in  a  larger  room,  with  barred 
windows  and  no  outside  door.  Lieutenant  Bartholo- 
mew bowed  to  Lieutenant  Pike,  and  left.  Against 
the  walls  there  were  several  low  couches,  covered 
with  furs  and  gay  blankets,  for  seats.  So  they  sat 
down,  and  the  men  stared  about. 

"  Whereabouts  in  here  are  we,  I  wonder,"  John 
Brown  proposed. 

"  Did  ye  see  them  strings  o'  tanned  Injun  ears 
hangin'  acrost  the  front  winders !  "  remarked  Hugh 
Menaugh. 

"  Sure,  we'd  never  find  way  out  by  ourselves," 
declared  Alex  Roy.  "It's  a  crookeder  trail  than 
the  one  to  the  Red  River." 

The  lieutenant  briefly  smiled;  but  he  sat 
anxiously. 

Lieutenant  Bartholomew  suddenly  returned; 
close  behind  him  a  large,  heavy-set,  swarthy,  hard- 
faced  man,  of  sharp  black  eyes,  and  dressed  in  a 
much  decorated  uniform.  Lieutenant  Pike  hastily 
arose,  at  attention ;  they  all  rose. 

297 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

"  His  Excellency  Don  Joaquin  del  Real  Alen- 
caster,  Governor  of  the  Province  of  New  Mexico," 
Lieutenant  Bartholomew  announced.  "  I  have  the 
honor  to  present  Lieutenant  Don  Mungo-Meri- 
Paike,  of  the  American  army." 

Lieutenant  Pike  bowed ;  the  governor  bowed,  and 
spoke  at  once,  in  French. 

"  You  command  here?  " 

"  Yes,  sir."  The  lieutenant  answered  just  as 
quickly. 

"  Do  you  speak  French?  " 

"  Yes,  sir." 

"  You  come  to  reconnoiter  our  country,  do  you?  " 

"  I  marched  to  reconnoiter  our  own,"  replied 
Lieutenant  Pike. 

"  In  what  character  are  you?  " 

"  In  my  proper  character,  sir :  an  officer  of  the 
United  States  army." 

"  And  the  man  Robinson — is  he  attached  to  your 
party?" 

"  No."  The  governor's  voice  had  been  brusque, 
and  the  lieutenant  was  beginning  to  flush.  But  it  was 
true  that  the  doctor  was  only  an  independent 
volunteer. 

"  Do  you  know  him?  " 

"  Yes.    He  is  from  St.  Louis." 

"  How  many  men  have  you?  " 
298 


IN  MY  PROPER  CHARACTER,  SIR:  AN  OFFICER  OF  THE  UNITED 
STATES  ARMY" 


STUB  REACHES  END  0'  TRAIL 

"  I  had  fifteen."  And  this  also  was  true,  when 
counting  the  deserter  Kennerman. 

"  And  this  Robinson  makes  sixteen  ?  "  insisted 
the  governor. 

"  I  have  already  told  your  Excellency  that  he 
does  not  belong  to  my  party"  the  lieutenant  re- 
torted. "  I  shall  answer  no  more  enquiries  on  the 
subject." 

"  When  did  you  leave  St.  Louis?  " 
"July  15." 
"  I  think  you  marched  in  June." 

"  No,  sir." 

"  Very  well,"  snapped  the  governor.  "  Return 
with  Don  Bartholomew  to  his  house,  and  come  here 
again  at  seven  o'clock  and  bring  your  papers  with 
you." 

He  shortly  bowed,  whirled  on  his  heels  and  left. 
The  lieutenant  bit  his  lips,  striving  to  hold  his  tem- 
per. Lieutenant  Bartholomew  appeared  distressed. 

"  A  thousand  apologies,  Don  Lieutenant,"  he 
proffered.  "  His  Excellency  is  in  bad  humor ;  but 
never  mind.  You  are  to  be  my  guest.  Your  men 
will  be  quartered  in  the  barracks.  Please  follow  me." 

They  filed  out,  through  the  rooms,  into  daylight 
again. 

"  A  sergeant  will  show  your  men,  seiior.    They 

are  free  to  go  where  they  please,  in  the  city,"  said 

299 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

Lieutenant  Bartholomew.     "  My  own  house  is  at 
your  service." 

"  Go  with  Lieutenant  Bartholomew's  sergeant, 
lads/*  Lieutenant  Pike  directed.  "  Guard  your 
tongues  and  actions  and  remember  your  duty  to  your 
Government." 

Beckoning  with  a  flash  of  white  teeth  underneath 
his  ferocious  moustache  the  dragoon  sergeant  took 
them  to  the  barracks.  These  were  another  long 
building  on  the  right  of  the  first  building,  fronting 
upon  the  west  side  of  the  square  and  protected  by  a 
wall  with  a  court  inside. 

At  a  sign  from  the  sergeant  they  stacked  their 
muskets  and  hung  their  pistols,  in  the  court.  Then 
they  were  led  in  to  supper. 

"  Sure,  we're  goin'  to  be  comfortable,"  Freegift 
uttered,  glancing  around  as  they  ate.  "  The  food  is 
mighty  warmin' — what  you  call  the  seasonin'  ?  Pep- 
per, ain't  it,  same  as  we  got,  above?  Yes." 

"  Did  you  hear  what  they  call  that  other  buildin', 
where  we  were  took  first  ?  "  asked  Jake  Carter,  of 
Stub. 

"  The  Palace  of  the  Governors,  the  soldiers  said." 

"Palace!"  Jake  snorted.  "It's  more  like  the 
keep  of  a  bomb-proof  fort.  I've  dreamed  of  palaces, 
but  never  such  a  one.  There's  nothin'  for  a  gover- 
nor to  be  so  high  and  uppish  about." 

300 


STUB  REACHES  END  O'  TRAIL 

"The  cap'n  gave  him  tit  for  tat,  all  right/' 
asserted  William  Gordon.  "  We've  got  a  verse  or 
two  of  Yankee  Doodle  in  us  yet !  " 

They  finished  supper  and  shoved  back  their  cow- 
hide benches. 

"  We're  to  go  where  we  plaze,  ain't  it?  "  queried 
Hugh^  "  So  long  as  we  keep  bounds?  Well,  I'm 
for  seein'  the  town  whilst  I  can." 

"  We're  with  you,  old  hoss,"  they  cried,  and 
trooped  into  the  court. 

First  thing,  they  found  that  their  guns  had 
vanished. 

Freegift  scratched  his  shaggy  head. 

"  Now,  a  pretty  trick.  We're  disarmed.  They 
come  it  over  us  proper,  I  say." 

Spanish  soldiers  were  passing  to  and  fro.  Some 
stared,  some  laughed,  but  nobody  offered  an  explana- 
tion or  seemed  to  understand  the  questions. 

"  That  wasn't  in  the  bargain,,  was  it?  "  Alex  Roy 
demanded.  "  The  cap'n  '11  have  a  word  or  two  of  the 
right  kind  ready,  when  he  learns.  Anyhow,  we'll 
soon  find  out  whether  we're  prisoners  as  well. 
Come  on." 

The  gate  at  the  entrance  to  the  court  was  open. 
The  guard  there  did  not  stop  them.  They  had 
scarcely  stepped  out,  to  the  square,  when  loitering 
soldiers  and  civilians,  chatting  with  women  envel- 

301 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

oped  in  black  shawls,  welcomed  them  in  Spanish 
and  beckoned  to  them,  and  acted  eager  to  show  them 
around. 

"  *  Buenas  noches,'  is  it?  '  Good  evenin'  to  ye/  " 
spoke  Freegift.  "  I  expect  there'll  be  no  harm  in 
loosenin*  up  a  bit.  So  fare  as  you  like,  boys,  an' 
have  a  care.  I'm  off.  Who's  with  me?  " 

They  trooped  gaily  away,  escorted  by  their  new 
Santa  Fean  friends.  Stub  stuck  to  Freegift,  for  a 
time ;  but  every  little  while  the  men  had  to  stop,  and 
drink  wine  offered  to  them  at  the  shops  and  even  at 
the  houses  near  by ;  so,  tiring  of  this,  he  fell  behind, 
to  make  the  rounds  on  his  own  account  and  see  what 
he  chose  to  see. 

He  was  crossing  the  bare,  hard-baked  square, 
or  plaza  as  they  called  it,  to  take  another  look  at 
the  strings  of  Indian  ears  festooned  on  the  front  of 
the  Governor's  Palace,  when  through  the  gathering 
dusk  somebody  hailed  him. 

"Hi!  Muchacho!  Aqui!    (Hi!  Boy!   Here!)" 

It  was  Lieutenant  Bartholomew,  summoning  him 
toward  the  barracks.  The  lieutenant  met  him. 

"  Habla  Espanol  (You  speak  Spanish)  ?  " 

"  Very  little,"  Stub  answered. 

"  Bien  (Good)."  And  the  lieutenant  continued 
eagerly.  "  Como  se  llama  Ud.  en  Americano  (What 
is  your  name  in  American)  ?  " 

302 


STUB  REACHES  END  O'  TRAIL 

"  Me  llamo  Jack  Pursley  (My  name  is  Jack 
Pursley),  senor." 

"Si,  si!  Bien!  Muy  bien!  (Yes,  yes!  Good! 
Very  good!)"  exclaimed  the  lieutenant.  "Ven 
conmigo,  pues  (Come  with  me,  then)." 

On  he  went,  at  such  a  pace  that  Stub,  wondering, 
had  hard  work  keeping  up  with  him.  They  made  a 
number  of  twists  and  turns  through  the  crooked, 
darkened  streets,  and  the  lieutenant  stopped  before 
a  door  set  in  the  mud  wall  of  a  house  flush  with 
the  street  itself.  He  opened,  and  entered — Stub  on 
his  heels.  They  passed  down  a  narrow  verandah,  in 
a  court,  entered  another  door 

The  room  was  lighted  with  two  candles.  It  had 
no  seats  except  a  couple  of  blanket-covered  couches 
against  its  wall ;  a  colored  picture  or  two  of  the  saints 
hung  on  the  bare  walls.  A  man  had  sprung  up.  He 
was  a  tall,  full-bearded  man — an  American  even 
though  his  clothes  were  Spanish. 

He  gazed  upon  Stub;  Stub  gaped  at  him. 

"  It  is  the  boy,"  panted  Lieutenant  Bartholo- 
mew. "Bien?" 

"  Jack !  "  shouted  the  man. 

"My  dad!"  Stub  blurted. 

They  charged  each  other,  and  hugged. 

"  Good !  Good !  "  exclaimed  the  lieutenant,  danc- 
303 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

ing  delighted.  Several  women  rushed  in,  to  peer 
and  ask  questions. 

14  Boy,  boy!  "  uttered  Jack's  father,  holding  him 
off  to  look  at  him  again.  "  I  thought  never  to  see 
you,  after  the  Utes  got  you.  They  took  you  some- 
where— I  couldn't  find  out ;  and  finally  they  fetched 
me  down  to  Santa  Fe,  and  here  I've  been  near  two 
years,  carpentering." 

"  Couldn't  you  get  away?  " 

"  No.  They  won't  let  me.  And  now  I'm  mighty 
glad." 

"  Well,  I'm  here,  too,"  laughed  Stub.  "  And  I 
guess  I'll  stay;  but  I'll  have  to  ask  Lieutenant  Pike." 

"  He's  gone  to  the  palace,  to  talk  with  the 
governor  again.  You  and  I'll  talk  with  each  other. 
I  came  especially  to  see  him ;  thought  maybe  he  might 
help  me,  and  I  hoped  to  talk  with  one  of  his  kind. 
American  blood  is  powerful  scarce  in  Santa  Fe. 
There's  only  one  simon-pure  Yankee,  except  myself. 
He's  Sol  Colly;  used  to  be  a  sergeant  in  the  army 
and  was  captured  six  years  ago  along  with  the  rest 
of  a  party  that  invaded  Texas.  But  he  doesn't  live 
here.  A  Frenchman  or  two,  here  from  the  States, 
don't  count.  My,  my,  it's  good  to  speak  English 
and  to  hear  it.  As  soon  as  the  lieutenant  learnt 
my  name  he  remembered  about  you ;  but  he  couldn't 
wait,  so  Don  Bartholomew  went  to  find  you.  Now 

304 


STUB  REACHES  END  O'  TRAIL 

you'll  go  home  with  me,  where  we  can  be  snug  and 
private." 

He  spoke  in  Spanish  to  Lieutenant  Bartholomew, 
who  nodded. 

"  Certainly,  certainly,  senor.  Until  to-morrow 
morning." 

And  Jack  gladly  marched  home  hand-in-hand 
with  his  father,  James  Pursley,  of  Kentucky,  the  dis- 
coverer of  gold  in  Colorado,  and  the  first  American 
resident  in  Santa  Fe. 


XXI 

GOOD-BY  TO  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

THE  lieutenant  and  men  were  to  be  sent  clear 
to  the  city  of  Chihuahua,  more  than  six  hundred 
miles  southward,  where  the  commanding  general 
of  all  Mexico  had  headquarters. 

An  officer  and  two  soldiers  from  Governor  Alen- 
caster  had  called  for  him  again  in  the  morning  imme- 
diately after  breakfast.  He  returned  to  the  Lieu- 
tenant Bartholomew  house  fuming.  Stub  never  be- 
fore had  seen  him  so  angry. 

"  I  protested  with  all  my  power"  he  related,  to 
Lieutenant  Bartholomew  and  Stub's  father.  "  I 
said  that  I  should  not  go  unless  forced  to  by  military 
strength.  The  governor  agreed  to  give  me  a  paper 
certifying  to  the  fact  that  I  march  only  as  com- 
pelled to,  but  our  detention  as  prisoners  is  a  breach 
of  faith.  I  consented  to  come  to  Santa  Fe,  for  the 
purpose  of  explaining  to  him  my  accidental  pres- 
ence within  his  frontiers;  and  I  have  so  explained. 
He  has  even  read  my  papers  and  my  commission. 
Now  he  orders  us  still  further  into  the  interior." 

"  You  have  my  sympathy,  senor,"  proffered  Lieu- 
tenant Bartholomew. 


GOOD-BY  TO  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

"  That's  the  system  here,  sir,"  added  Stub's 
father.  "  I  am  an  American  citizen,  and  was  brought 
in  by  the  Injuns,  from  outside  territory ;  and  I  can't 
leave  without  a  permit.  I'm  close  watched — but  I've 
still  got  my  old  rifle;  and  give  me  two  hours'  start 
and  Til  not  ask  for  any  other  passport." 

"  When  I  reminded  His  Excellency  that  my  unin- 
tentional trespass  was  not  to  be  compared  with  his, 
when  he  dispatched  five  hundred  troops  far  into 
the  Pawnee  country,  well  within  the  territory  of 
the  United  States,  he  had  no  reply,"  pursued  Lieu- 
tenant Pike.  "  However,  I  am  to  dine  with  him  this 
noon,  and  march  soon  thereafter,  to  meet  an  escort 
under  that  Lieutenant  Melgares  below." 

"  You  will  find  Don  Facundo  Melgares  to  be  a 
very  pleasant  gentleman,  senor,"  spoke  Lieutenant 
Bartholomew. 

"  He  spent  a  great  deal  of  time  and  money 
looking  for  me,"  Lieutenant  Pike  grimly  laughed. 
"  He  might  as  well  have  stayed  here,  for  I  should 
never  have  yielded  to  him,  north  of  the  Red  River; 
not  while  I  had  a  man  left.  I  understand  that 
Doctor  Robinson,  whom  the  governor  mentioned, 
also  has  been  sent  south." 

"  That  is  possible,  senor." 

The  lieutenant  shrugged  his  shoulders. 

"  And  I  suppose  my  sergeant  and  the  other  men 
307 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

will  follow  me."  He  turned  to  Stub.  "  Come,  boy ; 
we'll  look  up  our  party  and  order  them  to  be  ready. 
Their  arms  are  to  be  restored  to  them,  at  least.  We're 
not  to  be  driven  like  cattle.  His  Excellency  has 
promised  that,  and  we'll  march  as  soldiers." 

"You  take  the  boy  to  Chihuahua?"  queried 
Lieutenant  Bartholomew. 

"What?"  Stub's  tall  father  demanded,  with  a 
start. 

Lieutenant  Pike  smiled. 

"  No,  sir.  He  remains  here,  where  he  belongs. 
I  am  only  too  happy  to  have  reunited  him  and  his 
father.  His  service  with  me  ends — and  it  has  been 
a  greater  service  than  you  may  imagine." 

They  hastened  for  the  barracks.  Midway,  the 
lieutenant  halted  in  covert  of  an  old  wall. 

"  You  have  my  journal  ?  "  he  asked,  guardedly. 

"  Yes,  sir." 

"  Good !  You  may  give  it  to  me,  now.  Quick ! 
There!"  He  swiftly  tucked  it  away.  "It  is  the 
only  paper  unknown  to  the  governor,  and  I  mean 
to  keep  it.  Last  night,  when  I  considered  that  he 
was  done  with  me,  I  heard  that  the  men  were  drink- 
ing wine  with  the  town  people.  So  in  case  they 
should  drink  too  much  I  sought  them  out  and  took 
the  other  papers  from  them.  They're  faithful,  but 
the  wine  might  have  made  them  careless.  I  stowed 

308 


GOOD-BY  TO  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

the  papers  in  my  trunk  again  (this  was  a  little  hand- 
trunk  that  the  lieutenant  had  carried,  with  help, 
from  the  Arkansaw,  as  his  only  important  baggage)  ; 
then  early  this  morning  the  governor  unexpectedly 
sent  for  me  and  my  trunk  and  I  had  no*  chance  to 
open  it  privately.  By  trusting  in  him  I  was  clev- 
erly outwitted,  but  thanks  to  you  I've  saved  my  jour- 
nal. Had  I  found  you  last  night  I  would  have  taken 
it,  to  place  it  with  the  other  papers." 

So,  thanks  to  a  boy,  the  journal  of  Lieutenant 
Pike  was  saved  to  the  world. 

"  Can't  you  get  your  trunk  again?  "  Stub  asked, 
as  they  hurried  on. 

"  It  will  go  down  to  Chihuahua  with  me,  but  in 
charge  of  the  officer  of  the  escort,  for  the  command- 
ing general." 

"  Do  the  papers  tell  anything  wrong?  " 

"  No,  unless  they  are  wrongly  read.  There  are 
letters,  and  scientific  notes  upon 'the  locations  and 
distances;  and  maps.  If  the  commanding  general 
thinks  we  were  spying  out  the  country,  he  may  try 
to  keep  everything.  But  the  journal  would  be  the 
greatest  loss." 

And  truth  to  say,  Lieutenant  Pike  never  did  get 
back  any  of  the  papers  in  the  trunk. 

Freegift  and  John  Brown  were  at  the  barracks; 
309 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

the  other  men  were  rambling  about  John  went  to 
find  them. 

"To  Chihuahua  is  it,  sir?"  Freegift  gasped. 
"Without  our  guns  ?" 

"  You  will  get  your  guns." 

"  An*  don't  we  wait  for  the  sergeant  an'  them 
others,  sir?" 

"We're  not  permitted.  I'll  leave  a  note  for 
Meek  with  this  boy,  here,  telling  him  to  keep  up 
courage  and  follow  us." 

"  But  doesn't  the  lad  go,  too,  sir?  " 

"  No.    He  stays  in  Santa  Fe." 

"  I've  found  my  father,  Freegift,"  eagerly  ex- 
plained Stub.  "  He's  here.  The  Utahs  brought  him 
here.  I've  got  to  stay  with  him." 

"  Found  your  dad,  eh?  Well,  well !  An'  good! 
I  want  to  know !  That's  all  right,  then.  We've  been 
some  worried  over  you,  but  sure  we  felt  sartin  you 
wouldn't  desert.  Expect  you'd  rather  have  found 
your  father  than  the  Red  River;  hey?  " 

"  I  don't  know,"  Stub  stammered.  "  I  wish  we'd 
found  both." 

His  heart  ached  for  Lieutenant  Pike,  who  seemed 
to  have  found  nothing — unless  he  really  had  in- 
tended to  come  here. 

"We  soldiers  must  not  complain;  we  will  only 

rejoice  in  your  good  fortune,  my  lad,"  answered 

310 


GOOD-BY  TO  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

the  lieutenant.  "  All  in  all,  we  did  not  toil  in  vain, 
and  we  have  done  what  we  could.  Have  the  men 
ready  to  march  at  twelve  o'clock,  Stout."  And 
turning  on  his  heel  he  strode  off. 

"A  fine  little  man,  an'  a  smart  one,"  mused 
Freegift,  gazing  after.  "We'll  go  with  him  to 
Chihuahua — an'  to  the  ends  o'  the  earth,  if  need  be." 

The  lieutenant  left  first,  shortly  after  noon.  He 
had  dined  with  the  governor;  when  he  came  out  of 
the  palace,  into  the  public  square,  prepared  to  start, 
the  governor's  coach  was  waiting,  attached  to  six 
gaily  harnessed  mules.  A  detachment  of  dragoons 
also  were  waiting;  so  were  Stub  and  his  father,  and 
old  Sergeant  Colly  who  had  been  captured,  six  years 
ago,  in  Spanish  territory. 

They  shook  hands  with  the  lieutenant. 

"  Good-by.    Good-by,  sir." 

"Good-by."  He  held  his  head  high,  like  an 
officer  and  a  free  American.  He  did  not  mind  the 
stares  of  the  town  people.  "  Remember,  you  are 
Americans." 

"  Don't  forget  us,  sir,  when  you  reach  the  States," 
old  Solgmon  Colly  implored.  "  Don't  forget  Ser- 
geant Colly  of  the  army,  who  made  his  only  mistake 
when  he  was  trapped  by  these  Spanish.  You'll  do 
what  you  can  for  us,  sir  ?  " 

"  I'll  not  forget ;  not  while  I  have  breath  in  my 
3" 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

body,"  promised  the  lieutenant,  earnestly.     "  I  will 
report  you  to  the  Government." 

The  governor  had  clumped  out,  in  his  uniform 
and  jack-boots.  Lieutenant  Bartholomew,  and  Cap- 
tain D'Almansa  who  was  to  command  the  escort 
southward,  were  with  him.  They  all  entered  the 
splendid  coach  decorated  with  gilt. 

The  door  slammed.  The  servant  climbed  to  the 
seat  beside  the  driver — the  sergeant  in  charge  of  the 
dragoons  shouted  an  order,  and  away  they  went, 
mules  and  horses  at  a  gallop. 

That  was  the  last  that  Stub  or  anybody  in  Santa 
Fe  ever  saw  of  young  Lieutenant  Pike. 

Stub  went  to  the  barracks  with  his  father  and 
Solomon  Colly,  to  watch  the  men  off.  They  were 
about  to  go.  He  shook  hands  with  them,  too :  with 
Freegift,  and  Alex  Roy,  and  John  Brown,  and  Hugh 
Menaugh,  and  William  Gordon,  and  Jake  Carter — 
that  brave  six,  still  limping  from  frozen  feet. 

"  Good  luck  to  you,  boy." 

"  Good  luck." 

"  An*  never  forget  you've  been  a  Pike  man,  on 
one  o*  the  toughest  marches  in  history,"  added  Free- 
gift.  "  Stick  up  for  your  country.  You've  Tarned 
never  to  say  die — an'  that's  the  American  of  it." 

"  Yes,  sir.    I  know  it." 

>  lads,  but  Sol  and  I  wish  we  were  going 


GOOD-BY  TO  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

with  you,"  sighed  his  father.  "  But  maybe  you'll 
be  back  again,  by  the  thousand,  and  then  we'll  see 
the  flag  floating." 

"  Maybe.  There'll  be  a  time,"  replied  Freegift 
"  There'll  be  a  time  when  the  flag*!!  float  over  this 
very  spot.  But  we  won't  need  any  thousand.  Five 
hundred  of  us  under  Cap'n  Pike  could  take  the  whole 
country.  An'  now  we  know  a  way  in." 

"  I've  half  a  notion  that  the  lieutenant  wasn't  so 
sorry  to  be  made  prisoner,  after  all,"  Stub's  father 
remarked  to  him,  on  the  way  home.  "  There's  some- 
thing secret  about  this  that  he  doesn't  tell.  As  that 
soldier  friend  of  yours  said,  in  case  of  war — and 
war  over  this  borderland  dispute  is  likely  to  break 
out  any  day — the  army  will  know  what's  ahead  of  it." 

"  They'll  let  Lieutenant  Pike  go,  won't  they?  " 

His  father  chuckled. 

"  They'll  have  to.  He's  not  the  kind  of  man 
they  can  keep.  They  can't  prove  he's  a  spy,  for  he's 
in  uniform  (what  there  is  of  it),  and  his  orders  are 
plain  to  read." 

This  day  was  March  4.  It  was  two  weeks  later, 
or  March  18,  when  at  last  Lieutenant  Saltelo  brought 
in  Sergeant  Meek  and  Corporal  Jerry  Jackson,  Terry 
Miller,  John  Mountjoy,  poor  John  Sparks  and  Tom 
Dougherty,  Baroney,  Pat  Smith  and  the  few  miser- 
sis 


LOST  WITH  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

able  horses  and  the  main  baggage.  There  was  great 
rejoicing,  again,  in  Santa  Fe. 

Sergeant  Meek  was  taken  at  once  to  Governor 
Alencaster,  but  'twas  safe  to  say  that  the  governor 
would  find  out  little  from  him.  Stub  sought  the 
other  men  out,  at  the  barracks.  John  Sparks  and 
Tom  were  unable  to  walk ;  they  had  lost  their  feet, 
and  the  most  of  their  fingers ;  Baroney  and  Pat,  and, 
they  said,  the  sergeant,  too,  were  in  bad  shape,  from 
the  march  through  the  snows,  to  the  stockade;  but 
they  all  welcomed  Stub. 

"Where's  the  cap'n?" 

"  He's  gone  to  Chihuahua." 

"  And  what  are  ye  doin'  here,  then  ?  Did  you 
run  off  from  him?  Say!  " 

"  No.  He  told  me  to  stay.  I  found  my  father. 
We're  living  here — till  we  can  get  away/' 

"You  did?  Found  your  father!  Want  to 
know!  Hooray!  And  the  cap'n  and  the  rest  to 
Chihuahua.  So  it's  to  Chihuahua  the  same  for  us, 
no  doubt." 

"  Faith,  that's  proper,"  declared  Tom  Dougherty. 
"  We'll  not  desert  him.  If  it  be  prison  for  wan 
of  us  let  it  be  prison  for  all  of  us.  What's  left 
o'  me'll  stick  to  the  cap'n.  Sure,  John  an*  me  are 
only  poor  cripples — whether  we'll  be  paid  I  don't 
know;  but  all  we  want  is  to  be  with  him,  doin'  as 


GOOD-BY  TO  LIEUTENANT  PIKE 

we  can.  He's  had  the  hardest  luck  an*  he  com- 
plained not  wance." 

When  Sergeant  Meek  came,  Stub  gave  him  the 
note.  The  sergeant  read  it. 

"  The  cap'n  says  for  us  to  keep  our  arms,  and  not 
lose  the  baggage.  Yes,  that's  the  caper.  Bear  in 
mind,  lads.  We're  for  Chihuahua  in  the  morning." 

They,  also,  were  sent  down  to  Chihuahua.  Stub 
never  saw  any  of  them  again,  either.  He  heard,  much 
later,  that  the  lieutenant  and  six  had  safely  reached 
Natchitoches ;  but  from  Chihuahua  no  word  ever 
came  back  of  Sergeant  Meek,  Corporal  Jerry, 
Baroney  the  interpreter,  Privates  Sparks,  Dougherty, 
Mountjoy,  Miller,  and  Pat  Smith,  except  that 
General  Salcedo,  the  commander,  had  found  them 
a  hard  lot  to  handle  and  had  got  them  out  of  his 
province  as  quickly  as  he  might 

So  probably  they  caught  up  with  Lieutenant  Pike 
somewhere  in  the  United  States ;  and  as  likely  as  not 
some  of  them  were  with  him  to  support  him  when 
he  fell,  dying  on  the  field  of  battle,  away  north  in 
Canada,  during  the  War  of  1812. 

They  all  loved  him. 


YB  69187 


M13691 


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